Every breath you take impacts your well-being

MANILA, Philippines – In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that an estimated 12.6 million people died as a result of living or working in an unhealthy environment.

The recent second edition of this report, titled “Preventing disease through healthy environments: a global assessment of the burden of disease from environmental risks,” reveals that most deaths due to noncommunicable diseases are attributed to air pollution.

The findings of WHO do not come as a surprise because in Metro Manila alone, we experience an astounding amount of air pollution every day from smog that envelops city skylines to deadly emissions coming from thousands of motor vehicles that settle on a gridlock on city highways and major thoroughfares.

What could a city dweller do to avoid the deadly air pollution? Perhaps stay at home, cook a decent meal, light a scented candle to relax?

“Ninety percent of our time, we stay indoors where levels of pollutants can be up to five times worse,” says engineer Phey Hong Soh at the recent global launch of Dyson Pure Cool Link purifier fan in Singapore. “As much as we care about the air pollution outside our house, unfortunately, there are indoor pollutants  that we almost always take for granted.”

These indoor pollutants include cigarette smoke (which contains 4,000 chemicals — very bad not just for your lungs but also for your skin!), toxic fumes from scented candles, aerosol deodorants and cleaning products, cooking oil smoke, pollen, allergens and even hair and dander from our beloved pets.

The air surrounding us can contain a mixture of potentially harmful gases and particles that remain invisible to the naked eye. These ultrafine and potentially harmful particles that can travel easily through air can cause asthma and respiratory problems, among other illnesses.

British technology company Dyson — popular for its vacuum cleaners and bladeless fans — has identified the problem about indoor air pollution. The company also challenged itself to develop its newest product Dyson Pure Cool Link purifier fan.

At first glance, this lovely and sleek technology looks similar to its cousin — the bladeless fan or “air multiplier.” The Dyson Pure Cool Link, in fact, is also an air multiplier but above all, an air purifier. In it is a unique 360-degree glass HEPA filter, a technology that captures 99.95 percent of ultrafine allergens, odors and pollutants from the air.

It doesn’t stop there. Sensors inside the machine detect changes in conditions before automatically adjusting airflow to maintain the target air quality. The machine projects cleaner purified air around the room evenly and quietly. This purifier fan comes with a nighttime auto-mode. Your machine will continue to monitor and respond to air quality while you’re asleep and the LED display dims, so you won’t be disturbed. Take note that the Pure Cool Link is accredited with the Quiet Mark by the Noise Abatement Society and certified asthma- and allergy-friendly by Allergy Standards Limited.

What’s unique about the Pure Cool Link is its interconnectivity feature. Its Dyson Link App, created by the company’s engineers, allows you to remotely monitor your home’s air quality with the touch of a finger. This app, available in iOS and Android, will also track the air quality history in your home, allowing you to oversee peak pollution times during pollen season.

The purifier fan comes in Tower and Desk format. The Tower is engineered to project purified air across spaces, suitable for floor placement. The Desk is suitable for desk and worktops. Both designs are engineered for smaller rooms, with tilt function for targeting purified airflow.

Dyson head of category for environmental control Dominic Mason says, “What we want to do in Dyson is to make better products. That’s the ultimate goal. The challenge for us is to identify problems that other people ignore, develop a technology to fix the problems and explain to people why it’s better (solved by Dyson). We are very proud that we can make really great products and the feedback we get from our customers is overwhelmingly good.”

According to studies, in every single breath, we take in 10 liters of air. Breathing is indeed a powerful tool most people do involuntarily. And every breath we take directly impacts our life,  our well-being.

(Pure Cool Link is exclusively available at Century City Mall, Rustan’s Makati and Rustan’s Shangri-La Plaza Mall until Aug. 15. Starting Aug. 16, it will also be available in True Value Rockwell and Abenson Ascott BGC.)