Do you currently own a diesel car?
Hundreds of doctors, nurses and other health workers are calling on the Prime Minister to take action to get polluting diesel vehicles off the UK’s roads as soon as possible.
The recently formed Doctors Against Diesel group is campaigning for greater awareness of the health impacts of diesel emissions and for action to reduce the number of vehicles using the polluting fuel in towns and cities.
Air pollution from sources including factories and vehicles, particularly diesel engines, is linked to the early deaths of about 40,000 people a year in the UK – and causes problems such as heart and lung diseases and asthma.
Nearly 300 health professionals have written to Theresa May, highlighting evidence of the impacts of pollutants including nitrogen dioxide and soot, particularly for children, and calling for a diesel reduction initiative.
It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were encouraged to buy diesel cars over petrol fuelled engines. Ownership of diesel cars has more than trebled in the last 15 years – driven by misguided government tax incentives that identified diesel as a ‘green’ fuel. Almost 1.3million new diesels were registered last year, 48 per cent of all car purchases, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
What are your views? Do you drive a diesel car? Would you buy a diesel car? What do you think of the latest campaign to raise awareness of the health implications linked to diesel engines? What do you think the government should do?
