West Sussex seaside borough has the second worst air of any UK town or city, study finds
A new study has found that Worthing has the second worst air quality of any UK town or city.
The team at HouseFresh used data to calculate the number of cigarettes people, around the world, are indirectly smoking due to poor air quality.
These were the results for the UK, in full, with Worthing coming in second place – the equivalent of smoking 166 cigarettes per year.
- Liverpool: 171 yearly cigarettes indirectly smoked
- Worthing: 166
- Northampton: 158
- Manchester: 149
- Bournemouth: 148
- Ipswich: 146
- Bolton: 133
- Kingston Upon Hull / Swansea / Cardiff: 131
- London / Nottingham: 129
- Luton: 128
- Portsmouth: 126
- Bristol: 124
- Plymouth / Sheffield / York: 123
- Belfast / Birmingham: 121
HouseFresh author G. John Cole wrote: “Every day, the average adult inhales approximately 11,000 litres of air. But while getting outside and breathing in fresh air has numerous health benefits, the reality is that not all air is good for you. Airborne pollutants are one of the greatest sources of toxic exposure known to humankind and according to one estimate from the World Health Organization, air pollution contributes to seven million premature deaths worldwide every year.
"Of special concern is fine particulate matter (PM2.5) — airborne particles from engines and other emissions that are less than 0.033 the diameter of a human hair. These particles make their way to the deepest parts of your lungs and can get into your bloodstream. Cigarettes emit ten times more PM2.5 matter than diesel car exhausts, according to a controlled experiment reported by Tobacco Control. But while quitting smoking reduces exposure to toxins and improves overall health, it is harder to avoid the toxins that pollute the indoor and outdoor air.
“Air quality varies significantly around the globe, and in many parts of the world, the negative health effects of poor air quality are equivalent to smoking hundreds of cigarettes a year. To better communicate the health risks of air pollution, we used the latest data to calculate the number of cigarettes people around the world are indirectly smoking due to poor air quality.”
The researchers found the average PM2.5 concentration data in 2024 for the most populated cities / towns in every country. Then, they used ‘Berkeley Earth’s rule of thumb’ – that one cigarette approximates to 22 µg/m3 PM2.5 concentration. With this reference, the team multiplied the result by 365 days to ‘obtain the yearly number of cigarettes indirectly smoked in each location’.
G. John Cole added: “Along with traditionally industrial cities with dense urban centres, such as Manchester and Liverpool, there are a number of southern coastal cities [or towns], such as Worthing, Bristol and Bournemouth. In Bristol alone, where PM2.5 levels are equivalent to smoking 124 cigarettes per year, five people die each week as a result of air pollution, according to the Alan Turing Institute.”
To find out more, visit https://housefresh.com/cigarettes-indirectly-smoking-map/