Living near a busy road can stunt children's lung growth, a UK report has shown.
Children's health was found to be affected by staying within 50 metres of the road.
The study recorded the effect of roadside pollution across 13 cities in the UK and Poland.
It found 14 percent of kids in Oxford had stunted lung growth, while in London 13 per cent were affected and 8 percent in Birmingham.
The study also revealed one-third of Londoners, an estimated 3 million people, are thought to live near a busy road.
According to the research, written by King's College London and released by a coalition of 15 health and environment non-governmental organizations (NGO) said, living near a road with heavy traffic may increase your risk of developing lung cancer by up to ten percent.
The new study also showed an increased risk of cardiac arrest, heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, bronchitis as well as reduced lung function in children who live near a traffic-ridden road.
Amongst the report, the coalition of NGOs has been calling on politicians to commit to taking steps to in order to reduce the drastic state of illegal air pollution across the UK to meet World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
"Air pollution makes us, and especially our children, sick from cradle to grave, but is often invisible. This impressive research makes this public health crisis - which affects people all across the UK - visible, and shows the urgency with which all political parties must prioritise cleaning up our air," said Dr Rob Hughes, Senior Fellow at the Clean Air Fund in the King's College London press release.
This is the first time a wide range of health conditions and cities have been analysed in one report.
