Smog could kill 48 Islanders this year, according to estimates released at a news conference Tuesday by the Medical Society of P.E.I.

'Our findings are too important not to share.'- Dr. Herb Dickieson

Dr. Ted Boadway said the study was done by entering information on P.E.I.'s air quality, demographics and hospital statistics into a computer model. The model estimated the human and economic costs of air pollution on the Island. 

Dr. Ted Boadway said people getting sick from smog has an economic impact as well.
(CBC: Bill van Asperen)

"The actual affects sometimes are what we'll call minor illnesses days, which are illnesses you'd never see a doctor about," said Boadway.

"Sometimes [there are] visits to the emergency department, hospital admissions, and unfortunately we'll see about 48 people die in this province this year who shouldn't die otherwise."

Boadway said the study can't point to 48 people who have died because of smog on P.E.I. The number is extrapolated from other population studies.

Most of the air pollution in P.E.I. originates in central North America.
(CBC)

The smog comes almost exclusively from the gases and particulate matter resulting from burning fossil fuels to drive cars and trucks, heat homes and run industry. The poor air quality can cause serious breathing problems, particularly for the elderly.

Researchers have also recently discovered one of the polluting gases — nitrous oxide — can pass through artery walls creating plaque, a major cause of heart disease.

Smog not created here

Medical society president Dr. Herb Dickieson said P.E.I. doesn't create its own smog. Most of the air pollution comes from central Canada and the United States.
 
"We're not here to scare people, but we thought our findings are too important not to share," said Dickieson.

"Because of our comparatively small population, we do not have thousands of premature smog deaths that have been reported in other places, but nor do we have the pristine air that many Islanders maybe thought we did."

While most of the Island's smog comes from other parts of North America, Dickieson said Islanders could be producing less pollution themselves. He also suggested they lobby politicians to put more restrictions on big polluters in the U.S. and Canada.