WEEK 20 May 6th to 12th 2002

   EXHAUST CAUSES ASTHMA

   Since the beginning of the year several reports have been published essentially saying the same thing:
   Living in the cities is even more dangerous than previously believed.
   In one of the reports, with research done in California, USA published in the medical magazine The Lancet the connection between the dramatic rise in Asthma in industrialized and highly developed countries is overly clear. The disease, virtually unknown hundred years ago is today one of the worst threat to public health. People breathing the exhaust from cars, walking in the city, walking along highly trafficked roads are all highly suggestible to the disease.
   In Great Britain 18000 children develops Asthma annually. In Scandinavia one tenth of the population has got it and has to live with its devastating effects on a daily basis.
   The British newspaper Independent is comparing the report with the discovery that smoking caused cancer.
   Other reports, with a broader perspective are presenting more evidence that modern living are breaking down human beings, physically and mentally all over the world. The body's immune system, the defense against all diseases is weakening year by year. Chemicals and multiple residues of chemicals are influencing hormone production and causing a whole slew of diseases like cancer and genetic disorders. Mental health is declining in an unprecedented rate.

   In related news the car manufacturer Volvo has admitted that their models S60, V70 and S80 are exposing drivers and passengers to added electromagnetic radiation. They have, after some consumer pressure agreed to refit, rebuilding the cars, though they're very careful of admitting any further liability.