Doctors: Smog Will Kill 5,800 Ontarians This Year
Cost on healthcare system and economy almost $1 billion annually
Toronto, June 14, 2005 - Air pollution in Ontario will result
in almost 5,800 premature deaths this year and cost the province almost
a billion dollars, according to the latest report from the Ontario Medical
Association (OMA).
The report, Illness
Cost of Air Pollution 2005, shows that if the province does not take
action to further improve the quality of air in Ontario, the number of
premature deaths associated with air pollution is estimated to hit a staggering
10,000 lives by the year 2026. The combined healthcare and lost productivity
costs are expected to reach well over a billion dollars.
"The impact polluted air is having on the health of Ontarians is
dramatically worse than we had initially estimated," said Dr. Greg
Flynn, President of the OMA. "We are paying the price for poor air
quality with our lives and if we don't take action immediately, the cost
will continue to rise significantly."
The OMA estimates that in 2005, the number of Ontarians admitted to hospitals,
with health problems related to air pollution exposure, will be approximately
17,000. That number is expected to jump to over 24,000 by the year 2026.
The number of emergency room visits for 2005 is estimated at almost 60,000
cases and approximately 88,000 by 2026.
"Our estimates are actually quite conservative and still very shocking
when we see the harmful impact air pollution has on Ontario," said
Dr. Ted Boadway, OMA Executive Director of Health Policy. "This is
about saving lives and improving the quality of life across this province."
The revised estimate of 5,800 lives lost is considerably higher than
the 1,900 estimated in 2000. Important progress in the ability to measure
the health effects of air pollution accumulated over a lifetime has resulted
in a more accurate estimate.
"If we do nothing to tackle air pollution in Ontario, it is going
to cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives," said Flynn.
"The cost of in-action is clearly much higher than any price our
province could pay to improve air quality."
In the coming weeks the OMA will be releasing data for individual cities
in Ontario so that municipal governments can also understand the importance
of taking action to improve air quality and reduce air pollution.
|