In Germany rages on, pollutants are having a debate on the limits of air. The regulations for fine dust and nitrogen oxides, in particular, pushing from diesel vehicles, are far too restrictive. In a joint opinion, which have signed over 100 lung doctors.

the Driving force of the pulmonologist Dieter Köhler, who currently receives maximum attention from the media. His criticism: The pollutant limits are based on a lack of scientific Basis, and data would be one-sided and erroneous interpretation. In newspaper articles and on television of the 70-year-old former head physician speaks to the values of “completely nonsensical”, the ideological border. At the same time he claims to want to objectifying the discussion.

“criticism complete

Köhler unfunded” peddled a lot with his criticism of the pollutant limit values. In the summer of 2017, he contended, for example, in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” the quality of air pollution studies. Since his appearance on Wednesday in the First German television, he’s slyly discussion is spreading in Switzerland, where the limit values for oxides of nitrogen and fine dust are even lower than in Germany.

The Nino Künzli feels. He is the Deputy Director of the Swiss tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), and pollutants long-standing researchers air: “From my environment, I have already received many unsettled questions.” The epidemiologist is deeply alienated and referred to the criticism of the German lung doctor as a completely unfunded.

“Dieter Köhler is formed to epidemiological research methods as well as I do in quantum physics – namely, not at all,” says Nino Künzli. The pulmonologist and his co-authors had made in the area of air pollution and health, not a single trade publication. And also among the signatory of the lungs doctors only clinicians, which have the limited view of the practice of everyday life, be practical.

To high rates of death?

Dieter Köhler do not seem to care. He claims to be self-aware: “I am one of the few experts in this area, because I have habilitated with these questions in front of approximately 35 years.” Künzli can only wonder: “at that Time the research area was virtually non-existent.” Today, countless researchers around the world with the theme.

Specifically, Köhler criticized, for example, the high death rates due to fine dust and nitrogen oxides, with over a thousand deaths per year and Million inhabitants in Germany. These Figures are similar to that in the case of the death cases by lung cancer and Smoking lung due to Cigarette Smoking. This is implausible because of the higher pollutant load in the smoke.

Dieter Köhler boldly claims that air pollution researchers, even not knit the most basic case, the would epidemiology in the handle. So you would be confused, for example, correlation with causality, and confounding factors such as alcohol consumption or Smoking in your studies do not take into account.

Swiss success story

“There are tens of thousands of high-profile publications in the area, this is it unusable?”, Künzli says. In the last twenty years, measuring methods have continually improved, and new Attempts to place previous findings, would have increased the quality of the results. For the seemingly implausible comparison with the consumption of cigarettes Künzli has a simple explanation: “The burden of tobacco use is time-limited; the air pollutants are concentrated lower, but the exposure begins before birth and lasts for 24 hours every day.”

observers are now of dubious experts set in motion a discussion on the Controversy on climate change or tobacco consumption reminds. “Obviously there is going to give someone uncertainty, and has found a couple of Doctors who want to distinguish themselves,” says Künzli. He hopes that the theme will not cook in Switzerland. In his view, the current policy is a success story that has led to a sustainable improvement in the air. “Hysterical driving bans in Germany, the policies are ultimately the result of the diesel scandal, and a failed Promotion that will bring absolutely nothing.”

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 24.01.2019, 23:09 PM