Can we choose what we breathe

7 min readJun 3, 2020

Every day we breathe around 12,000 liters of air. We breathe even when we are asleep, even when we are unconscious.

While we are so selective about the food we eat and water we drink, we don’t have much control over the air that we breathe. We can choose salad over burgers, mineral water over regular water, but we can’t choose the air we breathe, however bad it may be.

But you must be wondering, what’s so bad with the air we breathe?

It’s polluted!

Worldwide, the life expectancy is 71 years.

And life expectancy is cut short due to various factors such as illnesses, chronic diseases & other factors.

Globally, reduction in average life expectancy due per person due to Conflict & terrorism is 22 days, Alcohol & drugs is 11 months, Smoking is 1.6 years

But, due to particulate pollution, its 1.8 years

And in India, its even worse!

On average, people in India would live 4.3 years longer if our country meets the WHO guideline

And in north India, it would be up to 7 years

There is a reason why air pollution is called an invisible killer!

It’s not visible but yet it is responsible for 7 million deaths annually across the globe
And in India, it was responsible for 1.24 million deaths in 2017, which is 12.5% of total deaths

Air pollution is like a slow poison, It impacts us over the time

The Invisible Killer

It’s not visible but yet it is responsible for 7 million deaths annually across the globe
Also linked Causing huge reduction in intelligence as well as diabetes

There is a common myth, that air pollution is region specific.

Well it’s not!

Air pollution know no boundaries!

In fact,

As per EPA, Indoor air quality can be up to 2–5 times worse than outside

Try to imagine, when was the last time you really spent hours outdoors!

Most of the times, we are indoors. Be it home, office, school,

As per EPA, we spend up to 90% of our times indoors, within, 4 walls and a ceiling.

Meet the un welcomed Guest

So what is really affecting our indoor air quality? Let’s meet the unwelcomed guests in our home

The first category of pollutants is called Particulate matter. Particulate matter is the mixture of solid particles & liquid droplets found in the air

Broadly they are categorized as PM 10, which means particulate matter of size 10 micron or less and PM 2.5, particulate matter of size 2.5 micron or less

PM2.5 is roughly 40 times smaller than the width of our hair which is around 100 micron

Particulate matter arises from various sources such as dust, automobile emission, incomplete combustion, stubble burning, waste burning, power plants & industries, tobacco smoke

One may wonder, how does PM2.5 can be present in our homes and indoor environment even though most of the PM2.5 generating activities are being done outside.

It comes from outdoor environment when we open our doors and windows through

•Natural ventilation : opening of doors & windows

•Infiltration, the passive entry of unfiltered outdoor air through small cracks and gaps in the building shell like walls, doors, windows

•Mechanical ventilation systems : primarily used in office buildings.

Some indoor activities which lead to the generation of PM2.5 are cooking (cooking fumes), smoking tobacco, burning candles & incense stick.

VOCs & toxic gases : Where do they come from?

The come from common household products like air fresheners & perfumes, paint on the wall, cleaners & disinfectants, furniture, furnishing like sofa and even scented candles & Dry cleaned clothes.

In short, if any product releases a certain smell (good or bad) and is made up of chemicals, then most certainly it may release some of the other VOCs

Ever happened to you that you walk into a room where a lot of air freshener has been sprayed and you wish to escape or open the windows? Or any of your friend sprayed too much deodorant and you can’t stand the overwhelming smell anymore? Well that’s because of the chemicals used in air fresheners or deodorants which release VOCs

VOCs & toxic gases : Health effects

Eyes, nose, throat irritation

Shortness of breath

Nausea

Headache & fatigue

Dizziness

Air pollution is bad for anyone who breathes but is even worse for

Children:

Because An infant has 3X the minute ventilation of an adult and a 6-year-old has 2X*
Air pollution affects at least 47 million Indian children and every 3rd child in Delhi has impaired lungs*
They are also much more active than adults and thus breathe more and their body and organs and lungs are also developing when they are bombarded with air pollution

Unborn babies

Older adults because their immunity goes down with age

People with asthma and allergies because they are more sensitive to air pollution

People with lung & heath diseases because they are more sensitive to air pollution

At Amway, we make products for your optimal health, to support your supplement needs, to support your water sanitation & now we bring you a product to take care of the air you breath because we believe quality air is not only vital for our physical and mental well-being but also a basic human need .