Masks help with particulate, which I think is Asia's core problem (from all the coal). But most bad-air US cities struggle with ozone, and I don't think masks help with that.
I notice an obvious and immediate improvement wearing a mask in Asia. And according to this article, the masks tested were effective in reducing the amount of pollution inhaled. "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."
A couple of hours in Manila’s traffic on a motorbike coated my ears with black dust. If you can even just reduce that intake by 30%, your lungs will be happier.
Where I live has elevated levels of both thanks to wildfires. It was so bad last summer that at one point, I could barely see the house across the street. Something's got to give.
Apparently charcoal can remove some ozone, but I’d less effective when humidity is high. So putting charcoal dust in a disposable mask and breathing on it all day would do very little.
Incorrect. A mask rated N95 filters out more than 95% of particles (PM) larger than 0.3 microns — that’s much smaller even than PM2.5 microns. Certified 3M N95 rated masks are sold all over China.
The question is how much air bypasses the masks at the sides. The holes there are huge and any air that passes there will basically have the full smaller particle load. Do the masks produce considerably more resistance to breathing if you press them on with your hands? That would be a sign of this happening.
I question this; "pm2.5" is a big marketing term in China. Do you think the masks are lying about what they filter, or were you under the impression that people weren't buying pm2.5 masks?
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-airpollution-masks...