Ozone and Asthma

Denver residents are slimmer and fitter than residents of 24 other cities in the United States, according to the latest report from the Denver Health and Wellness Commission.

Yet while Denver ranked high in many areas, the report also found that Denver ranked 18th out of 25 in terms of the percentage of adults with asthma. While those of us in Denver may be healthy in some areas, our respiratory health needs to some attention.

Is our respiratory failing a sign of our unhealthy ozone pollution? Well, we can't say that ozone is the reason for high asthma rates in Denver, but let's be clear here: ozone is not helping anyone with asthma.

The Denver Health and Wellness Commission's report underscores the need to tackle our ozone problem. We know that ozone can aggravate asthma, and some studies have found that ozone may even cause asthma.

Let's get the ozone out of our air and get Denver on track to be the healthiest city in the United States.