Around 30,000 deaths will be linked to toxic air in the UK in 2025, according to a report from leading doctors, as they urged the government to "recognise air pollution as a key public health issue".
According to Sky News, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) warned that around 99% of the population in the UK are breathing "toxic air."
The report says there is "no safe level" of air pollutants while noting how exposure to air pollution can shorten life by 1.8 years on average.
That is "just behind some of the leading causes of death and disease worldwide", including cancer and smoking, the authors wrote.
The college has called on the government to take action to tackle the issue, as it urged ministers to "recognise air pollution as a key public health issue".
In the forward of the report, England's chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, said, "Air pollution remains the most important environmental threat to health, with impacts throughout the life course.
"It is an area of health where the UK has made substantial progress in the last three decades with concentrations of many of the main pollutants falling rapidly, but it remains a major cause of chronic ill health as well as premature mortality,” he added.
The report also highlights the economic impact of air pollution as it has an estimated cost of £27bn a year in healthcare costs and productivity losses.
