Docs slam denial of lung disease, pollution link

Saying air pollution has no link to lung disease is like saying smoking is not harmful

- Ridhima Gupta

Medical experts have cited multiple recent international studies to challenge the Union government's assertion in Parliament that there is no conclusive evidence establishing a direct link between higher air pollution levels and lung disease, calling the statement misleading and based on a "play of words".

On December 18, the government told Parliament that there was no definitive data proving a direct correlation between air quality index (AQI) levels and lung-related illnesses or deaths. However, doctors pointed to a study published on April 25 in the British Journal of Cancer (Nature) titled "Particulate matter air pollution as a cause of lung cancer: epidemiological and experimental evidence", which concludes that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is strongly associated with increased lung cancer incidence and mortality.