Philips India is concerned over the deterioration of air pollution levels in India which has led to 27 million suffer from constructive obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and 80 million asthmatics and out of that 15 per cent are children. Three of Indian cities: New Delhi, Bengaluru and Lucknow are reported to be top in high air pollution levels. This led the company to embark on designing and developing a range of air purifiers to combat respiratory and allergy disorders which is reported to grossly decline work and study productivity among adult and children population in the country.
Indoor air pollution is the fifth largest killer in India after cardiovascular, cancer, road accidents and tuberculosis. The company is also apprehensive following the World Health Organization(WHO) report which says that 600 million in India would be suffering from air pollution disorders by 2017.
“While we have no control of the air outdoors, we could definitely do something about the air we breathe in our homes. This led us to develop multi layer filtration systems and Vita Shield technology to remove the irritants that trigger allergic reactions,” said Jayati, director, CL-CO, customer marketing, Philips India.
In India, the average indoor air pollution is 375 ug/m3 versus the WHO prescribed standards of 20 ug/m3. The country also accounts of over 20 million adults suffering from COPD. By 2017, it is estimated that half the population of India would suffer from some form of allergy including asthma. “Our air purifiers’ filter out the bacteria, allergens and harmful agents to provide healthy air continuously These indoor pollutants can have severe effects on human health and well being, This means anybody could use Philips air purifiers,” she added.
Quoting the WHO report, Jayati stated that most people spend 85 per cent of their time indoors which is 10-30 times more polluted than outdoor. This leads to acute respiratory infections which contribute to 13 per cent of the patient deaths in pediatric wards. Globally, around 13 lakh succumb to indoor air pollution versus outdoor pollution of 6.20 lakh.
According to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 12-15 per cent children suffer from asthma. The WHO studies reveal a strong link between poor indoor air quality and non communicable disease which causes 63 per cent of the global mortality.
A serious concern is the rise in respiratory disorders driven by air pollution. All the three models of Phillips air purifiers: AC4027, 4025 and 4014 are equipped with a four-step filtration system. The first layer is an antibacterial pre-filter which catches the big particles like hair and dust. The second layer which is a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter removes ultrafine particles including some viruses. The third layer of filtration which is an activated carbon shield removes odours and harmful gases. The fourth layer which is also a HEPA filter with an antibacterial coating eliminates fine dust, germs and mould, she explained adding that the multi-stage active filtration system which traps up to 99.7 of air borne particles triggers much of the allergic reactions.
Further, the range of air purifiers are also alert filter replacements, adjusts the air flow and clearly shows the air quality level.