On the eve of Diwali, Breathefree brought together the asthmatic kids in Chandigarh to appeal to the masses to celebrate Diwali with Diyas instead of burning fire-crackers. As per a study done by the Pune-based Chest Research Foundation (CRF), Diwali fire-crackers shoot up air pollution 200-fold above the World Health Organization (WHO) safety limits, posing the worst threat to 30 million asthmatics in India.
The event highlighted that the gases emitted from the burning of fire-crackers aggravates the risk of triggering an attack in asthmatics and also have the potential to cause new cases of asthma. These harmful gases irritates the delicate airways of the lungs and worsen the condition of people with Asthma, COPD, IPF, Bronchitis or any other respiratory ailments.
We would also like to thank Dr. Amit Kumar Mandal, MD (Chest), Consultant Pulmonologist, Fortis Hospital, Mohali who addressed the press conference and also appealed the masses to avoid fire-crackers completely and show concern for others.
The same event was also organized in Pune and Chennai and a press release was also issued in cities like Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mumbai, Jaipur and Lucknow with an objective to raise awareness on the harmful effects of crackers on asthmatics.
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