A group of teenagers who live in some of London’s most polluted neighbourhoods are putting “hacked” road signs up across the capital to highlight the disproportionate impact that toxic air has on people of colour. Choked Up, a group who describe themselves as “black and brown teenagers from south London”, have set up the campaign, which is being backed by more than 100 doctors. Anjali Raman-Middleton, 17, a co-founder of the group, went to primary school with Ella Kissi-Debrah, who died in 2013 as a result of London’s air pollution crisis. “I’m terrified that my daily commute to school along the South Circular has already had a negative impact on my lungs,” she said. “I urge London mayoral candidates to commit to transform these roads to give me and my generation a greener future.” The guerrilla road signs read “pollution zone” and warn that “breathing kills”. They come just as new research from the Environmental Defense Fund Europe (EDF) is published showing that London’s poorest areas and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are hit hardest by the toxic air. A group of 100 London health professionals who work in the NHS have backed the call for action with a letter to the capital’s mayoral candidates, urging them to commit to tackling air pollution inequalities and to develop an “urgent action plan to … reduce our dependence on cars”. Levels of air pollution across the capital are “a public health emergency”, according to Dr Laura Jane Smith, a respiratory consultant at King’s College hospital and one of the signatories of the letter organised by Medact. “There are far too many people in our hospital wards and clinics who might otherwise be healthy if it wasn’t for the toxic air they breathe,” Smith said “Air pollution affects every single one of us from birth to old age, but we know the least well off and marginalised communities, including those from black and Asian backgrounds, are being hardest hit.” A growing body of research underlines the devastating impact that air pollution – both indoors and outdoors – is having on the nation’s health. Recent studies suggest it may be damaging every organ in the body, with effects including heart and lung disease, diabetes, dementia, reduced intelligence and increased depression. Children and unborn babies may suffer the most. The EDF study highlighted the uneven impact of air pollution, with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 24-31% higher in areas of London where people from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds are most likely to live. Additionally, it found the most deprived Londoners are more than six times more likely to live in areas with higher pollution than the least deprived. Choked Up is calling on the mayoral candidates to dramatically improve air quality along the capital’s major roads, the so-called “red routes”, which make up 5% of London’s roads but carry a third of its traffic. They are calling for a reduction in goods vehicle and private car use, and a renewed focus on “a world-class walking and cycling network, as well as affordable and accessible zero-emission public transport”. Oliver Lord, of EDF, said: “For years, the major ‘red routes’ have been a toxic thread running through our communities, polluting the doorsteps of homes and kids’ playgrounds. We need a green recovery that undoes decades of damage, using a clear traffic reduction plan – one where polluting trucks can no longer cut across the city and parking for cars becomes parks for people.”