TRAFFIC fumes pose a greater risk to health than passive smoking, according to the Scottish Greens.

Pointing to the alleged failures of Glasgow City Council to curb pollution in the city centre, Patrick Harvie MSP claimed that spending 24 hours in the city centre was the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes.

He also quoted academic reports which found exposure to smoke caused 850-950 deaths among non-smokers each year in Scotland, while around 2000 deaths were linked to pollution from vehicles in Scotland each year.

Glasgow City Council said the claim was "unscientific", and added that it was trying to improve its poor track record on pollution.

Mr Harvie said: "The figures speak for themselves. By dismissing these figures, the council is dismissing the fact that air pollution is taking its toll on the health of their citizens.

"Does Glasgow council question the recent World Health Organisation report which spells out the health effects of traffic-related pollution? Facing facts and taking on the challenge is what they need to do. Their approach has been half-hearted."

Research commissioned by Calor, the gas company, calculated the levels of oxides of nitrogen inhaled on pavements across the country, and compared them to the amount of nitrogen oxides inhaled from a Rothman's Light cigarette.

The report concluded that a day outside Glasgow City Chambers had broadly the same effect on the lungs as smoking 15 cigarettes, and also claimed spending 24 hours in Aberdeen city centre was equivalent to smoking 13 cigarettes.

A council spokeswoman said the authority was aware more needed to be done to tackle the air pollution hotspots. However, she said: "It is unreasonable to use bad science to suggest that breathing the air in Glasgow is comparable to smoking cigarettes. Breathing the air in Glasgow is not in any way as significant a threat to public health as smoking tobacco."

She added it is misleading to compare inhaling nitrogen oxides from pollution to inhaling cigarettes, as the latter also contains cancer-causing agents.

The claims made by the Scottish Green party at Holyrood yesterday follow a recent report by the WHO, which has linked traffic pollution to cancer, heart disease and attacks, asthma and respiratory diseases, and equates the number of pollution-related deaths to the number of traffic fatalities.

Earlier this year, Hope Street was found to be the most polluted street in Scotland, and the third worst in the UK.