So while politicians and advocacy groups fight over air pollution laws and restrictions, one thing is for sure, air pollution harms health of people, and especially that of children.

In journal Acta Paediatrica, researchers followed 177 infants in Stockholm with questionnaires filled out by parents and caretakers after birth to six months of age about lung functions including various pulmonary function tests. The researchers also gathered information regarding pollutants, including PM2.5, PM10, and nitrogen dioxide from the childrens’ residential addresses. Pollution from traffic was the main source of air pollution.

They found that children most exposed to air pollution had reduced lung function at six months compared to those with the least.

“Our study contributes to establishing air pollution as a risk factor for impaired lung function already during infancy when the lungs are still under development,” says head author, Björn Lundberg. “The results indicate that the negative lung function impact later in childhood, which was linked to exposure to air pollution in previous studies, occurs already early in life.”

However, more worrying was that Stockholm has relatively good air qualities. “Air pollution levels in Stockholm are comparatively low in an international perspective, and it is alarming that even these levels appear to have a negative lung function impact on infants,” says author Göran Pershagen.

Fact of the matter is, politicians and groups and policies that advocate for petroleum and cutting air pollution restrictions do not have the lives of your children in their interest. There’s no excuses for not ending the subsidies on energy sources that lead to pollution and shifting into research and production of clean energy. The goal for pollution reduction should be zero…unless you don’t really care about the health of your children.

B Lundberg et al/ Air pollution exposure impairs lung function in infants. Acta Paediatrica. DOI: 10.1111/apa.16412