Holiday Travel and Asthma

By Meagan Cooney

If you’re one of the 22 million Americans with asthma, traveling to a new

city for the holidays could be a major concern. Different cities have

varying levels of air pollution and smoke, which make them less tolerable

for those with asthma. The Asthma and Allergy foundation has put together

a ranking of 10 “asthma capitals," cities with significant asthma

problems. What makes a city bad for asthma? Air quality, pollen scores and

asthma rates contribute to the rankings, with Knoxville, Tennessee topping

the chart due to exceptionally high pollen counts and allowing smoking in

some public places.