Londoners are shunning protective face masks despite significant warnings over soaring pollution levels, it has been revealed.
Doctors this week warned that time is “running out” to tackle the toxic air and protect British children from pollution.
Their warning came after the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, tweeted to say that older people and people with heart and lung problems should avoid exercise due to high pollution.
Alerts were issued across the capital due after a polluted air mass from northwest Europe descended on London.
But Harry Cole, the founder of pollution mask company Respro, said the warnings have not lead to an unprecdented spike in sales.
“It is actually contrary to what you might think,” he told the Standard.
“The pollution reports come out every year and they get a lot of press, so we see a surge in media attention and people do tend to buy a few more masks.
“But then it goes back to normal. If there are changes, they are temporary.”
Cole said his concerns are that people are not fully aware of the issue of poor air quality until it becomes visible.
“It is only when it gets really bad that people actually do something about it – and that when it turns into smog.
“Everything is simplified so it is only when people can see it that they worry about it. A lot of the time you can’t actually see the pollution, but it is still there.
“Until people understand that there is and air quality issue that is not ending then we will have the same problem.
“We need to mobilise the public so we can influence the government to actually do something.”
He said the best way to solve the problem of poor air quality would be to ensure there were “no cars in cities” and “restrictions on vehicle movement”.
The campaign group Doctors Against Diesel have published a letter calling on Theresa May to start phasing out diesel vehicles to cut harmful fumes on the streets of the capital and other cities and towns. The medics, including more than 100 from London, said: “A national diesel reduction initiative, led by Government, will represent a major public health advance.
“However, time is running out, without urgent action emissions from diesel vehicles will cause irreversible lung damage to the current generation of children.
Doctors issued a warning about protecting children from the dangers of poor air quality.
