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An accessible and hard-hitting look at the facts behind air pollution in everyday life. Take a deep breath. You'll do it 20,000 times a day. You assume all this air is clean; it's the very breath of life.
But in Delhi, the toxic smog is as bad for you as smoking 50 cigarettes a day. Even a few days in Paris, London or Rome is equivalent to two or three cigarettes. Air pollution is implicated in six of the top ten causes of death worldwide, including lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and dementia. Breathless gives us clear facts about air pollution in our everyday lives, showing how it affects our bodies, how much of it occurs in unexpected places (indoors, inside your car), and how you can minimise the risks.
Rooted in the latest science, including real-time air-quality experiments in city streets and ordinary homes, it will allow you to make up your own mind about the risks and trade-offs of modern living – wherever in the world you are.
Chris Woodford has written and edited dozens of science education books, including the bestselling Cool Stuff series. His previous titles include Cool Stuff & How it Works (DK, 2005), Science: A Children's Encyclopedia (DK, 2014), and Atoms under the Floorboards (Bloomsbury, 2015).
"Full of scary information [...] Bad air lowers life expectancy around the world and the insidious effects start early. "If you're a 12-year-old growing up in London, dirty air (largely from traffic) is making it significantly more likely that you'll suffer from depression by the time you hit 18," Woodford states."
– The Independent, Books of the Month
