By Canadian Press

Breathing thick forest fire smoke equivalent of smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day: U of A researcher

Feb 6, 2019 | 7:19 AM

A University of Alberta researcher is making a sobering comparison between smoking cigarettes and inhaling smoke from forest fires.

Mike Flannigan says inhaling the smoke from a forest fire is equal to smoking a couple of packs of cigarettes a day depending on how thick it is.

He and an environmental health scientist at the B-C Centre for Disease Control are making presentations today to the B-C Lung Association’s annual workshop on air quality and health.