When people think of air quality more often than not smog, acid rain, CFC’s and other forms of outdoor air pollution come to mind. In a recent study performed at the University of San Diego the amount of air pollution from vehicles and the smoke of cigars and cigarettes was measured. Air pollution affects all living things.  It causes health problems in humans and animals, can cause damage to plants and reduce visibility.

There are several main types of pollution and well-known consequences that are discussed in everyday life. Three main contributors of air pollution can be traced to vehicle emissions and tobacco smoke; ozone, particulate matter, and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Particulate matter, released when fuel is incompletely burned, can lodge in the lungs and irritate or damage lung tissue.  NOx is of special concern because of its ability to harm lung tissue and also because of its role in the production in dangerous tropospheric ozone.

In the result of the study it was found that cigars release a greater amount of NOx than cigarettes. In the testing of various vehicles it was discovered that NOx levels were higher in cold starts of vehicle engines, whose catalytic converters hadn’t reached their operating temperatures.  Inversely particulate matter was found to increase in vehicles of higher engine temperatures.