Market Facts and Information

Market Profile

• Almost 1,600,000 air cleaners sold in 2000; total sales of $147 million

• 75% of purchasers are women

• Most women are fairly educated and affluent

• 37% are over age 55; 20% 45-54; 23% 35-44; 15% 25-34 and 4.3% 18-24

• Breathing market growing at a rate of 13% a year

• US consumers spend almost $17 billion on allergy and asthmatic products

• Non-allergy and non-asthma sufferers purchase 40% of all air purifiers

• Market growth of air purifiers in specialty markets is up 500% for the first quarter of 2001 compared to the first quarter of 2000

From the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

• Allergies affect from 40,000,000 to 50,000,000 Americans
• More than half of American households have one allergy sufferer
• More than 38% of all Americans suffer from asthma or allergies
• Allergic diseases are the sixth largest cause of chronic illnesses in the United States, affecting over 20% of the population
• Four out of 10 children have allergies
• Almost 36,000,000 Americans have hay fever (allergic rhinitis)
• Over 8,000,000 visits of office based physicians each year are attributed to hay fever
• Total cost associated with hay fever in the United States is $3.4 billion
• Increased absenteeism and reduced productivity due to allergies cost companies more than $250,000,000 in 1998
• Sinusitis develops in approximately 31,000,000 Americans each year
• People suffering from sinusitis miss an average of four days of work each year
• There are more than 18,000,000 office visits to primary care physicians are attributed to allergies

From the American Lung Association

• The average American breathes 3,400 gallons of air each day

• 361,000 Americans die each year because of lung disease: it is responsible for one out of seven deaths

• More than 25,000,000 Americans are now living with chronic lung disease

• EPA estimates that Environmental Tobacco Smoke is responsible for 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000 to 50,000 heart disease cases in non-smokers

• EPA estimates that between 200,000 and 1,000,000 asthmatic children have their condition worsen by exposure to second hand smoke resulting from sinusitis; average overall health expenditures were estimated at over $5.8 billion

From the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency

• Studies show that indoor air quality of many pollutants are 2 to 5 times higher and occasionally 100 times higher than outdoor air

• Indoor air pollution is among the top five environmental risks to public health

• Three most important methods of improving indoor air quality are source removal, air cleaning and increased ventilation

• Construction of more tightly sealed buildings, reduced air exchange rates in ventilation systems to save energy, use of synthetic building materials and furnishings and the use of chemically formulated household and commercial cleaners, personal care products and pesticides have dramatically increased our exposure to indoor air pollutants

• Everyone is at risk due to poor air quality

From Other Sources

• Average adjusted mortality from asthma increased 35% in males and 67% in females over a 10 year period
• Asthma related deaths doubled to 5,438 in the past 10 years
• Asthma results in 3,000,000 lost work days for adults and 10,000,000 lost school days for children each year
• Asthma affects 17,000,000 Americans (37% are from 0-19 years of age, 30% 20-39; 21% 40-55 and 12% over 60
• Reducing number of allergens in air can help reduce and prevent allergen samples
• A child born a generation from now is almost twice as likely to develop asthma