Convert Air Quality Index to Cigarette Health Impact Based on Berkeley Earth Research
Understand the health impact of air pollution by converting AQI exposure to equivalent cigarettes smoked.
AQI to Cigarettes Calculator
Input the Air Quality Index (AQI) where you live and how many hours you've been exposed. The calculator will tell you what the impact to your health is in cigarettes.
How does this work?
Step 1: I converted AQI back to PM 2.5 particle concentration. That's the number of particles in the air that are a certain size. For this operation I used the same equation as the Air Now calculator
Step 2: based on this research, the health impact of a particle concentration of 22μg/m3 per 24 hours is equivalent to about 1 cigarette.
FAQs
Common questions about the AQI to Cigarettes calculator
Calculate Your Exposure
Input your local AQI, track your exposure, and understand the health impact!
Acknowledgments
This project was inspired by the AQI2cigarettes project. Special thanks to jasminedevv for the pioneering work.