HEALTH NOTES

Grey River Argus, 17 August 1934, Page 6

HEALTH NOTES

EFFECT OF SMOKE AND FOG IN RELATION TO HEALTH. (Under the auspices of the Sunlight League.) (By a Medical Specialist.) In the 14th century, one John Smith, was hanged for creating a smoke nuisance. In the intervening period of the development of our industrial civilization, the evils of smoke have become to be complacently tolerated. Citizens of large towns and manufacturing districts have grown so accustomed to the outpouring of black smoke from factory and domestic chimneys and also to the prevalence of fogs that they regard these conditions as being part of the natural order of things. The popular idea that smoke doe snot injure health, bit only affects our comfort, is responsible for the continuation of the harmful effects of air pollution. The effects of fog and smoke are so gradual, while they accumulate, that their influence in producing ill-health and disease is not readily apparent. There are several; ways in which fog and smoke produce deleterious effects on the human body, and it is the purpose of this article to explain these briefly.

The fogs which are prevalent over our cities are not real fogs as people imagine. What are of ter mistakenly called fogs are really clou Is of smoke and dust-ridden polluted air, which in cold windless days, are prevented from rising and hang like a pall over buildings and streets. Smoke fog is very harmful, for the ingredients of which it is mainly composed are soot and tar with variable quantities of sulphur and nitrogen compounds, which frequently turn to highly injurious acids when condensed or when mingled with moisture in the air. The soot and tarry compounds make the smoke visible. The soot, for most people, con stitutes the most obnoxious feature of smoke, but the most injuiious component of smoke is sulphur, which goes to form sulphurous acid. These are heavy gases and descend in the surrounding neighbourhood. The peculiar irritating sensations sometimes experienced during a smoke fog are generally due to the sulphur in the air. Asthma, catarrh and similar ailments

may be either caused or aggravated by sulphur laden smoke. Fogs are made dense by the moisture .of the atmosphere being deposited on particles of soot, dust, or acid vapours. Fogs prevent the evapora lion of moisture, keeping the ground and streets damp and cold, also the cutting off of the sun’s rays by the smoke greatly increases the cold humidity of the climate. People are impelled to remain indoors and indoor occupations give place to healthy exercise. Smoke fogs aggravate the discomfort of those already suffering from heart and chest disease, and they also imperil the aged, the young, and the weak. It is well known that when fogs are prevalent, colds and respiratory diseases increase. There is no doubt that the continued foggy weather experienced this winter has played an important part in the causa-, tion and long-continued prevalence of the epidemic of influenza colds that have been so widespread this winter. In the manufacturing towns of England and Scotland, it has been clearly proved that fogs cause a definite increase in the death rate from bronchitis, pneumonia and pleurisy. The sun is so important to our continued well-being, that we can onlylook with the greatest concern upon any agency which tends to restrict its influence. During the winter months the smoke that lies over our citv, cuts

off 30 per cent, to 50 per cent, of the sun’s rays. Human beings are adversely affected by being deprived of pure sunlight for any length of time. The ultra-violet rays of the sun are essential to activate the vital processes of growth in the young, and they are also essential for energising the resisting forces, wrich protect the body against the onslaughts of disease. Smoky atmosphere and fogs prevent the ultra-violet rays of the sun from reaching the towns and cities, and the vital importance of this is seen in the fact that rickets and anameia are the two principal diseases resulting from a prolonged deficiency of sunshine. These are the extreme effects, but in addit on the loss of much sunshine in the vinter months through the agency of fogs causes enfeebiement and devitalising of the general health. In foggy weather, the inhabitants of towns and citizes, cannot avoid the inhalation of particles of soot and other atmospheric impurities, and these aTe

deposited on the mucous membrane lining the nose, throat, ami bronchia tubes. These impurities taken i: along with the inspired air. cause irri tation of the mucous membrances ren ilering them liable t«» acute ami chrono infections, which may also involve tb« ear and nasaT sinuses. The effects o long continued irritation of the repiratory mucous membrances hy smoki and tog particles, is that chronic cat arrh of the nose, throat, and mayb< the bronchial tubes, supervene. Wit I this condition the mucous lining be comes rough and thickened and th< deposition of the carbon particles fron the soot ami dust causes the lymphati glands to become clogged, with the in evitable result that disease germs whe* they enter are enabled to set up sue! diseases as bronchitis, pneumonia am sinusitis, because of the clogging o the lymphatic glands, which are thnatural barriers of the body agaitis: germ infection.

Smoky and foggy air is largely res ponsible for the long continued pre valence of colds and bronchitis durin; the winter months. For those livin’ in a smoky neighbourhood, the earl;

morning cough is a familiar experi ence. being an attempt to get rid of the inspired irritating carbon par tic les, which can be seen as black specks in the phelgni. Dwellers near industrial centres have their lungs blacken ed both on their surface and throughout their structure, by the deposit of carbon from long-continued inhalation in smoky localities. While blackened lungs may not cause immediate illness, they reduce materially the chances of recovery from disease, and this explains why pneumonia in a smoky district is generally more severe than in a non-smoky area. This constitutes one of the principal indictments against smoke from the standpoint of health, namely that the physical resistance and natural means of protection of the body against disease are very materially lowered throughout the whole community. Smoke immeasurably affects the general health. The protection of the health of the community lies largely in the hands of the specialist in preventative medicine, but until the general public demands pure air, and the abatement Of the smoke nuisance, nothing much can be done to lessen the enormous prevail ence of colds ami respiratory infectious.