Air pollution kills thousands a year, says French agency
May-07, 2004

PARIS — Air pollution, much of it caused by cars, kills 5,000 to 6,000 people a year in France, a state agency said Thursday.

"Tobacco still kills more people than pollution, but that is no reason to abandon the efforts to decrease pollution," said Michele Froment-Vedrine, director of the Agency for Environmental Health Safety.

A report by the organization estimated the death toll also proposed corrective action, such as a tax on cars based how much they pollute, and better regulation of emission limits for cars, buses, and trucks.

"But it is not just on the government," Froment-Vedrine said. "Nobody living in a city center needs a four-wheel drive vehicle to go shopping. People should question their habits."

Air pollution was cited as one major factors behind the deaths of thousands of French people in a heat wave last summer, as searing temperatures and a lack of wind left a cloud of smog hanging over Paris and ozone levels rose.

While ozone in the upper atmosphere is vital to filter out harmful ultraviolet light, ground-level ozone — caused by sunlight reacting with car exhaust emissions and other pollutants — can cause respiratory problems.