Student Team Launches Paradoxical 'Breathing Kills' Cigarette Line

Yes, you read that right. Students Adeline DeChaud and Phil Le Brun have opted to use cigarettes to incite political discussion about London's air-quality and to promote Car Free Days.

Air pollution on many of London’s busiest roads has become as bad for your health as smoking. Shocked by the toxic effects of London’s air quality, the creative team have launched the range of cigarettes to urge Londoners to reconsider the health impacts of their vehicle use.

Inefficient cars and trucks account for most of the city’s toxic air, with over half of London’s air pollution attributed to road transport. Londoners make 6 million car journeys each day, a third of these being less than 2km, or a 25-minute walk. DeChaud and Le Brun's goal is to encourage Mayor Sadiq Khan and London councils to introduce Car Free Days to London.

The three pollution hotspots represented on the packets, Marylebone Road, Hammersmith Broadway and Brixton Road, all have daily vehicle emissions so concentrated that pedestrians and workers are exposed to NOx equivalent of more than 25 cigarettes. "We chose to target these locations, because of the deadly levels of air pollution, and because there are schools and nurseries nearby," said Dechaud and Le Brun. "London’s air is having a severe impact on all of our health, but children are the most severely impacted." 

"Air pollution on many of London’s busiest roads has become as bad for your health as smoking."

Deadly air pollution has real costs for London. The healthcare costs associated with illegal levels of air pollution are most acute in London. "The true cost of air pollution in inner cities is staggering," said Chris Large from Global Action Plan. "Swapping one in four car journeys in urban areas across the UK for walking or cycling could save over £1.1 billion in health damage costs per year." 

There are solutions

Removing private cars from the roads and creating pedestrianised town centres would immediately improve air quality for all Londoners. In 2015, a car-free day in Paris saw emissions in the city fall by 40%. At this year’s London Marathon, NOx levels dropped by 89% where roads were closed. The team behind the cigarettes want Londoners to reconsider private car use and encourage Mayor Sadiq Khan to use Car Free Day as a catalyst for accelerating the transition to pedestrianised town centres and a zero emissions transportation system.

“Car Free Day is an opportunity to test the transformative potential of car-free streets," said Marco Picardi, one of the organisers of London’s first Car Free Day on 22 September. "New approaches are needed to address congestion, pollution, and public health. Car Free Day is a catalyst to make healthy streets part of a daily routine for all Londoners.”