‘Air pollution in Manchester left me permanently ill’
Nik Scott caught pneumonia aged 19 which would go on to cause two decades of respiratory problems before doctors were finally able to diagnose what was was wrong with him.
āFrom my late teens, I would have at least three severe chest infections a year, that would completely wipe me out for at month at a time. I also coughed constantly and had a lot of phlegm,ā the 42-year-old from Manchester said.
āIn January 2019, I was so poorly with flu that I was really scared. I couldnāt stop coughing, struggled to get out of bed, and had a constant pain in the right side of my chest.ā
He was sent to Manchester Royal Infirmary for a CT scan, which showed a large shadow on his right lung. A subsequent bronchoscopy ā where doctors look directly at the airways in the lungs using a thin, lighted tube ā led the consultant to believe Mr Scott had bronchiectasis, a long-term condition where the airways of the lungs become widened, leading to a build-up of excess mucus that can make the lungs more vulnerable to infection.
āThe respiratory consultant explained that the lower lobe of my right lung was quite badly damaged and that mucus was getting trapped in a space below it. Iād also had some sort of tropical infection that Iād probably picked up in Thailand seven years earlier.ā
Despite taking all precautions, Mr Scott came down with Covid at the end of 2021 and was ācompletely flooredā by the coronavirus. Three months and no improvement later, his consultant suggested another CT scan.
āIt was there that it was discovered that the infection had caused a lot more damage to my right lung. My whole body was really struggling, and just walking from the car park to the supermarket was an enormous struggle which really shocked me as Iād previously been so fit and active, and often did hour-long body fitness classes.
āI was put on a 12-week physical activity recovery service, but in 2022 I really began to struggle at work, and was permanently ill with severe chest infections. I also was also constantly coughing and clearing my throat, and my colleagues joked that after 20 years of working in salons, I probably had a giant hairball lodged in my lungs.ā
Mr Scott was forced to quit his job as a head colourist/stylist at the salon in Manchester and also give up his role as an NVQ educator. He has been unable to work for more than two years, during which time he began to notice it was another factor that had been exacerbating his illness: air pollution.
āI first noticed pollution being a factor to my lung condition after coming away from work and salons. When youāre around people all day at work and staff too that have colds and pass on infections, I was getting poorly quite a lot. But since being away from that for the last two-and-half-years Iāve only had one chest infection.
āWhat affects my condition now is the air quality and pollution. If Iām out for long periods of time or if the weather is bad then my condition is affected and I have to use my nebuliser more to help clear it [and] settle my lungs. There are new buildings being built constantly in the area where I live and this affects my chest a great deal.
āI was advised that if I continued to get regular chest infections that I would need to consider an operation on my lung to remove the damaged area which would result in me needing an oxygen tank permanently. Which is something I really wouldnāt want to happen at my age.ā
Although he can no longer work, Mr Scott is an active clean air campaigner in Manchester ā which has some of the worst air pollution in the country ā and works with Asthma and Lung UK to influence local politicians.
The charity has shared its findings with i from a YouGov poll it commissioned which reveals that almost 4 in 5 people (78 per cent) believe air pollution is having just as negative an impact on their health as sewage/water pollution. The online survey of 2,214 people shows the public now place air pollution above climate change, deforestation and plastic pollution when it comes to affecting their health.
For Mr Scott, living in a city with high levels of air pollution has meant days where he never leaves the house.
āOn windy days I donāt leave the flat at all. I like to exercise regularly to help keep my lungs strong and I used to run a lot but over the last year or so Iāve noticed that if I go for a run then my chest can be bad later in the day and I cough a lot. Iāve put this down to pollution and me taking bigger breaths while running even if I run towards a large park or green space, which is actually limited being in the city centre.ā
The previous government directed Greater Manchester to develop a Clean Air Plan. The plan must meet legal limits for nitrogen dioxide on local roads and the council must complete the plan as soon as possible and by 2026 at the latest.
Asthma and Lung UK want the Labour Government to introduce a new Clean Air Act ā the last such Act in 1993 consolidated the Acts of 1956 and 1968 as well as introducing new amendments ā something its MPs were promising in opposition. In a debate last February, Newport West MP Ruth Jones told the Commons āhelp is on the wayā.
She said: āLabour will have a standalone clean air act in our very first Kingās Speech.ā But the Kingās Speech made no mention of the Act nor did the pledge appear in the partyās manifesto.
The charity wants a new law to āset out ambitious clean air laws that are underpinned by world-leading health targets to safeguard peopleās health and deliver cleaner air as soon as possibleā. The Government should also āpublish new plans to protect people from air pollution that seek to address health inequalities and defend those at higher riskā, among other new clean air policies.
Tim Dexter, clean air lead at Asthma and Lung UK said it was ātruly shockingā that 78 per cent of those surveyed were worried about the impact air pollution was having on their health, and that 80 per cent were concerned about the impact on childrenās lungs.
He told i: āLetās not beat around the bush here. Toxic air is a public health emergency, and this survey shows people are just as concerned about toxic air as they are about polluted water. The key difference is that the Government is taking tough action on sewage, and we need the same sense of urgency when it comes to air pollution as everyone has the right to breathe clean air.
āAir pollution contributes to up to 43,000 premature deaths a year, and although our poll shows people seem to understand the dangers of air pollution, they donāt seem to appreciate the scale of the problem. Only 3 per cent said they regularly checked air pollution levels in their area, and only 1 in 5 avoiding areas with high levels of traffic. In every pocket of this country, levels of PM2.5, one of the deadliest pollutants, exceed recommended levels.
āIt is time for the Government to roll out a public awareness campaign on air pollution, and to fulfil its promise to introduce a Clean Air Act that sets new legal levels for air pollution in alignment with World Health Organisation guidelines.ā
Mr Scott said the more ministers liaise with organisations like Asthma and Lung UK and the effects air pollution has on people with lung conditions, the more the Government will be able to understand what can be done and what they can change to help air quality.
āThe problem Manchester council and the mayor have said is that to help pollution they need funding from the Government, so Iād like to think that they are reviewing what funding they can provide to help the city tackle pollution and invest in clean air zones,ā he said.
A Government spokesperson said: āWe are determined to improve air quality and protect the public from the harm of pollution. That is why we will deliver a comprehensive and ambitious clean air strategy including a series of interventions to reduce emissions so that everyoneās exposure to air pollution is reduced.ā