Floorcare brand Vax has revealed that it has seen a 195% year on year increase in sales of its air treatment products in response to growing concern around air quality.
The sales lift of air purifiers comes after the UK was recently chastised for failing to comply with EU air pollution limits, with many cities repeatedly breaching air pollution limits. Vax’s sales uplift illustrates growing consumer concern around air quality, the brand says, with more and more people now making the link between outdoor and indoor air pollution.
Public health costs associated with air pollution in the UK have been estimated at £20bn a year, with six million working days lost annually. A recent study by the Royal College of Physicians has shown air pollution plays a key role in many major health issues, including cancer, asthma, diabetes, and dementia. The study also estimated the UK’s annual mortality rate of deaths attributable to exposure to outdoor air pollution to be at 40,000 per year – with yet more linked to indoor air pollution, too.
Vax adds that the extent of indoor air pollution ought to be taken just as seriously as its outdoor counterpart. It is no longer just secondhand smoke we need to be aware of – everyday items such as personal care products, pet dander, mould, airborne bacteria, viruses, and woodburners can have a serious effect on our lungs when inhaled. What’s more, pressures to conserve energy mean that newer properties and commercial spaces now have less ventilation, adding to the build-up of potentially lethal substances inside.
Vax air purification category leader Graham Curtis commented: “Outdoor air pollution has been a very prominent topic of conversation in recent weeks, and the increase in sales we are currently recording isn’t surprising given the amount of media attention surrounding this issue. Whilst it is excellent that something as important as air quality is getting the attention it deserves, the number of people who are still not aware of the strong link between outdoor and indoor air pollution is alarming – particularly when we consider that indoor air can be up to five times more polluted than outdoor air, and indoor pollutants cause several thousand deaths each year.
“Air purifiers are proven to be the most effective way to clean the air in your home, removing 99% of airborne particles such as dust, pollen, and other allergens in the air. The Vax range has been endorsed by Asthma UK and the British Allergy Foundation, given the links of poor air quality to these conditions. However, although it is our fastest growing category year to date, air purifier ownership in the UK is still some way behind the US and Asia – despite air pollutions levels in London recently surpassing those in Beijing, and a recent study showing that smog in Europe and North America could be more than 25 times more deadly than the average air pollution in Chinese cities.”
