Gasp!

Been feeling heavy lately?

Listless and without energy? It's in the air.

As the cold winds from China's winter drift overSouth East Asia, it creates a blanket over our cities that lock inlocal pollution, creating a choking smog hanging over the cities.

You can see it when you look out the window in the morning, and you can feel it when you breathe. It's a phenomenon known as thermal inversion, which stalls the normal process of convection that drawspollutants away from the cities.

Unfortunately, there is already precious little we can do about it.

We already have the clean air act, which has helped reduce pollutionfrom private cars, but we still have the choking diesel fumes fromjeepneys, trucks and busses, and choking fumes from oil burningtwo-stroke motorcycles--long since outlawed in other countries.

The World Bank estimates that for Metro Manila's population of 9 million, 1,300 deaths, 45,000 emergency room visits, 11 million restricted activity days, 35 million respiratory symptom days, at a cost of over Five Billion Pesos are due to the negative health effects of Air Pollution.

Extrapolating this data to our country's other major cities, and the cost of air pollution is a staggering P21.5 Billion Pesos. We already have Clean Air Laws in place (which have resulted in a decrease in the previously high levels of lead in the air), and a recently passed bio-fuels bill, but the combination of economic growth,increase in number of vehicles, lack of political will to reform the transport sector, and seasonal meteorological phenomenons mean we'll just need to find ways to cope.

Air filtering devices are widely available, from costly HEPA certified filters, which remove even pathogenic bacteria from the air, to more affordable particulate filters which remove suspended particles from the air.

The World Health Organization says the suspended particulate levels in Metro Manila are dangerously high, something that in annoyingly obvious when dusting shelves--not just of dust, but that slimy oily film that covers most household objects.

The first step in coping with the air pollution is to get a good,reliable air filter. HEPA filters are the best, with prices to match,but even the more common filters will result in a large improvement in home air quality. Ensure that the device is matched to the size of the room you'll most frequently use it in.

If you use airconditioning, install a micropore filter, such as 3Ms Filtrete over the airconditioner's regular filter. An airconditioner's regular filter is designed to protect the airconditioner, not the quality of the air you breathe. 3M's Filtrete, with it's micropore fiber traps many particles that would otherwise get into your lungs.Maintaining an environment of clean air at home will help you sleep andrelax. If you've frequently awoken with mild headaches, your home's air quality may be the cause.

There are similar air filters for your cars, and many modern cars already have these filters built-in. Either way, it's important that these filters be regularly maintained, but competent technicians, notsome neighborhood hack who "fixes" it by removing the air filter.

Of course, you can do your share to minimize your contribution to air pollution by ensuring that your car, stove, and other fuel burning devices in your household are well maintained.

For households with known asthmatics and elderly residents, a standby medical oxygen kit is a worthwhile investment, as is a home nebulizer. Like a fire extinguisher, you'll never know when you'll need these, but when you do, it may save lives.

For your own health and those of your loved ones, try to schedule a trip to a less polluted area at least once a week, whether it is a visit to the seaside, nearby Sta.Rosa or Tagaytay, or north toPampanga. A good multivitamin and extra vitamin C will help maintain respiratory immunity, as will eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

Many of us have no choice but to live in this polluted city, and there is already precious little we can do to reduce the pollution level. The best we can do at this stage is protect ourselves and ensure that our home environments are, at the very least, still livable.