Deregulate!

[stpioc]

Still better to get the filthy stuff out of the air, or better still, prevent it to get in (at least in large quantities, there should be a cost-benefit analysis attached), but this is good news:

An inhaler that protects the lungs against air pollution has been developed by scientists and could help the many millions of people affected by toxic air to avoid its worst effects.

The inhaler delivers a molecule, first found in bacteria in the Egyptian desert, which stabilises water on the surface of the lung cells to form a protective layer. It is expected to be available as an inexpensive, over-the-counter product.

Outdoor air pollution is a global health crisis that kills over 3 million people a year and it has long been linked to lung and heart disease and strokes. But research is also uncovering new impacts on health, including degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, mental illness and, this week, diabetes.

The impact of air pollution costs $5tn a year, according to a World Bank report published last week. In the UK, at least 40,000 people a year die prematurely from air pollution, with a cross-party committee of MPs calling it a “public health emergency”.

New inhaler protects lungs against effects of air pollution | Environment | The Guardian