After a number of scandals, it looks as if the government in Beijing has finally woken up to the fact that the city's air pollution is posing a serious problem to those living there, including those relocating from abroad for business reasons. 

State media outlets have said that Beijing will act to reduce air pollution levels by 15 per cent by 2015 and by as much as 30 per cent by 2020. They'll achieve this by phasing out the older, more polluting cars, closing down or relocating dirty factories, like cement works which emit a lot of dust, and they will also plant many new forests. 

Citizens of Beijing have been calling for this type of action for some time now. Beijing's pollution is the very visible kind – it is so bad that the airport had to be closed owing to lack of visibility. Cancelled flights are, of course, bad for business. But worse still is the impact of breathing in air pollution on your lungs.

Why not kick off 2012 with a resolution to improve the quality of your indoor air? Poor indoor air quality is associated with a number of health problems, such as asthma and other allergies, multiple chemical sensitivity, respiratory and heart disease, and lung cancer. We spend most of our time indoors, at home, at school or in the workplace, and are exposed to a wide range of pollutants including allergens, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen dioxide. Trying out our Top Tips will be a very worthwhile investment in terms of your, and your family's, health. 

1. Ventilation. This is a very important thing you can do to improve the quality of air in your home if airborne contamination originated from within your home, and the outside air in the area where you live is relatively clean. So, when did you last open a window? Get into the habit of opening several

Did you know that as many people (4,000) died from air pollution in London in 2008 as died in the Great Smog of 1952? That is the conclusion reached by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) in 'Air Quality: A follow up report.' Therefore, only smoking causes more premature deaths. In 1952, it was short-term exposure to heavy air pollution that caused the deaths. Today's air pollution deaths come from long-term exposure to PM_2.5  pollution which consists of tiny soot particles coated with organic compounds that are inhaled deep into the lungs.

The EAC's inquiry was undertaken to assess how far government had implemented processes outlined in its November 2010 response to an earlier report. They slam government for failure to act on what is seen as a major public health crisis and single out London Mayor Boris Johnson for his failure to achieve acceptable air quality in London (which we must now call 'The Olympic City'). 

Simon Birkett,

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, an initiative led by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and Macmillan Cancer Support which brings together a number of other charities and the Department of Health. Did you know that lung cancer claims 33,500 lives every year, making it the leading cause of cancer death in the UK? We have just had Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and there's a national breast screening programme - but, in fact, lung cancer kills more people than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and leukaemia put together. Unfortunately despite its importance, lung cancer attracts only 3% of cancer research funding, according to the British Lung Foundation.

Smoking and cancer go together in public perception. But never-smokers and ex-smokers get lung cancer too, and the cause is often exposure to carcinogens like certain industrial chemicals, asbestos and radon gas. There is also mounting evidence that air pollution plays a role in lung

A study of the public cycle sharing scheme in Barcelona (called Bicing) reveals that the overall effects on health are positive, and there are significant reductions in carbon emissions. The results could be applicable to London, where a bike sharing scheme has been up and running since 2010 and has so far attracted over six million hires.

Bike sharing schemes in cities are meant to benefit our health by reducing traffic congestion. In fact, London was a little late to this particular party. Barcelona launched its scheme in 2007, the same year as Paris, Seville and a year later than Lyon and Stockholm. The idea has spread to China with Hangzhou starting a cycle sharing in 2008 and Guangzhou last year. In the United States, Los Angeles and New York are likely to join in soon.

The proliferation of cycle schemes will provide a lot of data on how increasing the popularity of cycling may impact on urban air quality and also on citizens' health. Contemplating cycling in the city, you may

One of the enduring images of the World Trade Center terror attacks is of survivors fleeing amidst dense and choking clouds of debris issuing from the Towers. What toll might such massive exposure to dust pollution have on the long-term health of your lungs, and other body organs? Ten years on, we have some answers, thanks to two studies from researchers at Mount Sinai Medical School and elsewhere in the United States, which have just been published in The Lancet. The new research agrees with earlier studies, finding that rescue and recovery workers involved in the 9/11 disaster have a high risk of developing a range of physical and mental problems, including asthma and impaired lung function.

Around 50,000 people worked in rescue and recovery both in the immediate aftermath and in the weeks and months following 9/11. These included firefighters, police officers, construction and municipal workers. For most, I would imagine this act of public duty involved exposure to several

We have £18 million to spare to help improve London’s air quality before next year’s Olympics - now that the construction of the venues has come in under budget. And if the Mayor doesn’t get on with it, we stand to face a £175 million fine from the International Olympic Committee. That’s the price of exceeding EU pollution limits during the event and is laid down in a contract that was signed by the Mayor and the government in 2005. So they have had six years to put measures in place to make sure London’s air quality meets the required standards. What progress has been made?

There is the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) scheme, which was introduced in 2008 to help protect us from the health hazards of diesel. Under the LEZ, vehicles like lorries, coaches, and

Air pollution is usually invisible. You normally only see it indoors when it settles as dust or layer of grime on your furniture and other surfaces. In fact, air pollution is a complex mixture of liquid droplets, and solid particles, that come in a range of sizes classed as coarse, fine and ultrafine. These tiny particles are bombarding your body the whole time, indoors and outdoors. Some, like pollen grains, may make their presence felt by irritating your nose and eyes, as in an attack of hay fever. Others, like carbon monoxide molecules, may penetrate into your bloodstream and cause long-term damage to the heart. It pays to know a bit about the three main size classes of particle, so you can think about reducing your exposure.

Coarse particles.

These range in size between 2.5 and 10 micrometres in diameter and include fungal spores, which may trigger asthma and hay fever. The fungus