Wanna live in London? It'll cost 10 years

[dArKeR]

London - Air pollution in London could reduce the life expectancy of its residents by as much as 10 years, according to research published on Monday in Britain's Evening Standard newspaper.

Tiny dust particles, mostly the result of auto exhaust, and ozone are the culprits behind health problems suffered by thousands of locals in the British capital, say the researchers from King's College.

"In extreme cases, lifespan can be reduced by 10 years by pollution," said Roy ColvilCollege London who participated in the study.

http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=31&art_id=qw1086651540727B216&set_id=1

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1. It seems like London's always been an unhealthy place to live

I've read that in the 1600's, if it hadn't been for new residents arriving from the countryside, London would have had a net population loss. People there were dying faster than their replacements were being born.

Things weren't great in the pea-soup fog era of the late 1800's either. Those fogs may seem romantic in a Sherlock Holmes story, but they were really a heavy-duty form of smog, brought on by the widespread use of coal.

I don't know if London is worse than other large cities, but it's certainly had a bad reputation over the years.