§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will commission further research into the causes of the increasing incidence of hay fever, eczema, asthma and similar allergies; [65327]
(2) what evidence his Department has identified linking asthma, eczema and similar allergies to chemical by-products from (a) home heating systems and (b) car exhaust fumes. [65328]
§ Ms Jowell[holding answer 21 January 1999]The Department has carried out detailed investigations into the possible links between air pollution and asthma. The Department's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants published an extensive report on the subject, "Asthma and Outdoor Air Pollution", in 1995. The report made it clear that, while asthma and other atopy based diseases, such as hay fever and eczema, had increased considerably in many western countries over the past thirty years, this increase was unlikely to be caused by air pollution. The report acknowledged that exposure to some air pollutants could adversely affect individuals already suffering from asthma and trigger attacks.
Since then, evidence that air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide (an indoor as well as an outdoor air pollutant) and diesel particles, may enhance the body's biological response to allergens has strengthened. There does not appear to be any convincing evidence that eczema is related to exposure to air pollution.
The prevention and treatment of asthma and allergic conditions are high priority topics within the Department's research programmes, including the £4 million National Health Service asthma management programme. The Department also funds a number of research projects as part of its joint air pollution research programme with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Medical Research Council, which are examining the impact of air pollutants on asthma sufferers as well as a separate joint programme on indoor air pollutants and damp in the home. In addition to this, the Medical Research Council also funds a substantial Government programme of basic research into asthma and allergies amounting to over £2 million in 1997–98.