Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Air_pollution_smoke_rising_from_plant_tower
- Credit: Picture: Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Fæ
Health
Nature
air pollution
Amsterdam
Bram van Liere
health problems
Milieudefensie
passive smoking
Rijswijk
Rotterdam
Schiedam
second hand smoke
unhealthy air
Vlieland
Wednesday, August 17, 2016 - 13:20
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Amsterdam air pollution equal to smoking 6 cigarettes per day: environmental group

The air in Amsterdam is so polluted that residents suffer the same health detriments by breathing it that they would do from passively smoking 6.4 cigarettes, according to calculations by environmental organization Milieudefensie, Het Parool reports. Milieudefensie, the Dutch Friends of the Earth, used data on air quality in 393 Dutch municipalities and a scientific calculation model to figure out what the health effects of breathing unhealthy air are compared with passive smoking. The calculation model used was developed by scientists from GGD Amsterdam, RIVM and the Utrecht University. Rotterdam was found to be the most unhealthy city when it comes to air quality - breathing the Rotterdam air is equal to passively smoking almost 7 cigarettes a day. Rijswijk and Schiedam took second and third place. Amsterdam came in fourth with 6.4 cigarettes. Vlieland has the cleanest air, with 2.8 passively smoked cigarettes a day. Second-hand smoke from cigarettes is becoming less and less common due to a smoking ban in most public places. But according to the environmental organization, your health doesn't care whether you're breathing second-hand smoke or polluted air. Lung cancer and heart disease, among other things, occur in both cases. "Passive smoking is now more caused by cars, intensive farming and coal-fired plants than cigarettes", Bram van Liere of Milieudefensie said, according to the newspaper. Earlier this month the environmental organization filed a lawsuit against the Dutch State demanding that the air quality in the country be improved.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Addicted gamblers poorly protected by Dutch gaming websites
  • Sharp increase in forged documents submitted by asylum seekers
  • Bars more vigilant, but no hard evidence of 'needle spiking' incidents
  • Oil companies pressured Cabinet, disputed SoDM advice on Groningen gas
  • Schiphol busy but manageable, travelers advised not to come too early
  • Investors pessimistic, confidence fell again in May: ING

Top stories

  • Investors pessimistic, confidence fell again in May: ING
  • Politician targeted in corruption probe returns as Roermond alderman
  • Schiphol boss to discuss airport chaos with Dutch MPs
  • Three hurt, including one child, in theme park ride accident
  • More female managers, but wage gap remains
  • Only male aldlermen in 46 Dutch municipalities

© 2012-2022, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content