I spent ten days in Shanghi Hospital with a severe Asthma attack because of the pollution after only being in China for 2 days. The medics admitted that chest conditions are an issue for the local population. Being aware of the possibility of being ill if you have any chest problem and taking the appropriate precautions is vital. It is also an opportunity for the medical profession to explore how pollution effects healthy people by undertaking a research project that can help us all in the increasingly polluted planet. If the developed state of the art masks are proven to be good then perhaps it opens a marketing opportunity for all people with chest conditions to purchase them as the major powers are reluctant to resolve pollution and pay only lip service to doing it..

Kay, West Midlands,

i'm sure that running 26 miles, and the amount of air that needs to be taken in for this, would be unhealthy if the air is polluted. The saving face argument equates to hiding behind the truth

joe, london,

Why the heck are people pussy footing around, afraid of offending the Chinese government???? This is like "The Emperor's New Clothes",, Let's just get real, there IS a pink elephant in the room, ( or maybe a red one), and it's having trouble breathing! There are many issues between China and the rest of the world, but bad air is bad air, wherever it is located......this should be seen as a a health issue, not a political one.

Eliza, California, USA

The Chinese organizers are acutely aware of the pollution problem, even if they are unable to find a satisfactory solution. It may surprise some of China's more vehement critics that many of the challenges involved in hosting the Olympics are quite openly and candidly discussed in the Chinese media.

TB, London,

It's my health, so if I feel like I need a mask, I'll wear a mask!
F... bureaucrats! Paul

Paul, LA,

I spent a few months travelling through China last year and the air is so polluted you do not see the skies when you are in the cities. There is an ever-present haze over everything, which is really thick, and sometimes it's so bad it literally 'sits' on the cities. You have to leave the cities to remember what colour the sky is. The cars are really old as the majority of people can't afford luxury new cars, so I'm not surprised they're looking at this issue seriously. Even the Chinese wear the masks, so I'm not sure about this 'saving face' issue when the locals do it themselves. I's a sign - if the locals are wearing masks, then you should too.
The Chinese do not speak english, the restaurants have menu's in Chinese only, they'd eat food you'd never consider eating, the taxi-men don't speak english, the tourist spots (rail stations etc don't speak english, I don't know how the tourists are going to cope! I'm staying home for this one!

Pat, Byfleet, UK

Its the back end of spring festival here, 1.3 billion good people and their fireworks!! those posters that reckon the air is "sound of music" need their heads seeing to.

Reg, Beijing, China

I thinks its great the BOA is sticking to its policy. The last time Britain follwed the belief of the USA, look where it got us.

Athletes should have the right to protect themselves and their health.

Scott, St. Louis, USA

I lived in China last year teaching English also. Whilst being perfectly healthy in the UK I suffered form 4 chest infections in the space of 6 months. The difference in air quality from a major city in Europe to Beijing is more than considerable. The moment you step off the plane you can feel the pollution in your lungs with every breath you take. Admittedly the countryside has a much better quality of air but the Olympics are to be held in Beijing.

I think facts speak for themselves when the average particulate matter in Beijing is 141 per cubic metre of air (The EU declares any level over 40/m3 as dangerous) and that's not accounting for the numerous other toxins that are present in increasingly high concentrations. Sports experts have a right to be concerned about the levels of pollution.

Taryn, Manchester,

I am a Australian foreign teacher living in China the past three years. Many of my fellow teachers like me are old and retired teachers and having a new life in China. We are healthy teachers enjoying a great time teaching and climbing the many beautiful mountains in China.
I wish the sports experts from UK and other countries could spend sometime here. I am sure the air quality is comparable to London (furture Olympics venue). Please stop making a fuss about coming to this great place for the Olympics this year.

Rowling, Beijing, China

Why the debate? Not one athlete wearing a facemask at any event will be televised. Guaranteed.

jj, Cambs, UK

Yes., God forbid that the Chinese be embarrased over the quality of their air. How awful to think of those pictures being broadcast around the world. Let's make sure we don't upset them over that! Never mind their human rights issues.
Absolutely pathetic. The games should never be held there in the first place. I know people say politics and sports should not mix, but you know what, sometimes govenments should make a stand over things other than oil. The Olympics never took place in aparthied ridden South Africa did it?

Cristin, London, UK

Nobody wore them in LA. Nobody even thought of them in LA. This is more proof that today's top sportsmen are overpaid wimps. Gloves and warming cream for soccer players is another example of this. If our athletes do wear these ridiculous masks I hope the Chinese athletes wear them in London - or would we ban that?

Roger Tilbury, Worthing,

Michael Scordino (article) is absolutely wrong to say that he has no idea whether people will or will not wear masks. He can be absolutely certain that people will either wear masks or will not.

Lionel Coates, San Giljan, Malta GC

Perhaps by August, Britain is under Sharia Law and the woman athlets got to wear the burkha and Man a turban with jelalaba.

e_widiner, Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China

Athletes don't train in polluted gyms, tracks, etc, why should they not protect themselves from the bad air? The Chinese wear them most of the time, why such hypocrisy?. Hiding the truth as usual.

Wen, England,

Funny isn't it? When the issue of Darfur comes up, some governments (e.g. the US) say the games is all about sport and winning medals and we shouldn't mix the two. When the issue of offending the Chinese government comes up, suddenly politics is relevant, and its not just about the sport. Which one is it I wonder? Perhaps we should replace the Olympic rings with dollar signs.

Asitha Rodrigo, London,

Of course one month in Beijing is not going to kill anyone, but it doesn't seem to me the right way to put it.

This is one of the highest levels of competition you can think of, where - as they say - every little bit counts.

Athletes need certain standards to be met in order to perform at their maximum, which is what they have trained for years for. Can you imagine a couple of top long-distance runners dropping out of the competition for respiratory problems?

Then, of course, there's the issue whereby it's perfectly fine to have a hyper-polluted city before and after the event, but not during..

Luca, Beijing, China

You are all missing the point. Day to day activities or sporting exertion at the level you are talking about might not be affected. These are high performance athletes and the quality of the fuel going in is an issue. If you polute gasoline with additives the car doesn't run properly. I also thought the gag on British Athletes had been lifted?

im, Abu Dhabi/UAE, UAE (EX-PAT)

It's good to see that the British Olympics Association is keeping politics away from sport. It is also not a surprise that certain other countries -- notably, the USA -- put diplomatic relations as a priority before the careers, and maybe the health, of their athletes.

Martin Baldwin-Edwards, Athens, Greece

I lived in Beijing for a year and never found the pollution to be too much of a problem. I was involved in sports like rugby where training happened a couple of times a week. I never remember anyone having a problem. By no means am I an athlete, though.
The athelete are in peak physical condition and they should be taking every mesure to keep it that way. Politics and cultural sensitivity should never be a consideration.

Simon, Dunedin, New Zealand

Just as Dave says, the pollution is absolutely awful (though much improved in the last 6 months) but it will not kill anyone or cause any real damage in a month. Years of living here may be detrimental to ones health but I fear there is a bit of an over reaction to this issue by other countries. I live in Beijing and go running outside every day. I have not dropped dead yet.

Nick, Beijing, China

I think it is totally OK for athletes to wear mask if they wish to. They have the right to protect their health in the two weeks even though I had lived in Beijing for more 4 years without serious problem. Who knows, maybe I had been heavily toxic and will die of poison one hundred years later.

Again, I totally agree that any athlete has the right to wear a mask even though I think it is totally unnecessary.

hs shu, ottawa, canada

While the British are desperate for their competitve advantage, when it comes to the greater issue of giving their athletes free speech they have succumbed to Chinese pressure to issue a gagging order on any criticism of China. America and Australia in contrast have told their competitors that they are free to express their views.

As for the pollution, yes it gets nasty, but its not going to kill anyone staying here for just a month.

Dave Williams, Beijing, China

Strange to see the US being culturally sensitive. Maybe they are worried about offending the owners of their financial system.

tom, Sydney, Australia

Smog was always going to be an issue even before the Olympic Games was awarded to Bejing. The IOC is not really interested in the health of the competitors. This is a well proven fact. I remember the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. Altitude was the problem and a Swiss sculler nearly died at the end of his race. It was up to the IOC to make Bejing prove that they could solve the problem before the Games were awarded. Now it is up to Bejing to prove that they can do it or face masks are in. I have no doubt there will be legal consequences after Bejing. Those of us who live in downtown Bangkok can tell you about smog and its affect on peoples' health.

James Johnson, bangkok, thailand

This is truly one of the more bizarre sporting stories I've read in recent weeks. China 08--so real it's surreal.

David, Columbia, MO USA