To deal with air pollution like cigarette smokes and vehicle exhausts, I bought the AIR+ Smart Mask with Micro-Ventilator from Watsons.
The mask is made by Innosparks, an ST Engineering Open Lab and is certified N95.
The main mask comes in a pack of three for a price of $7.90.
The micro-ventilator cost $25.90 and is necessary for effective use of the mask.
I wore the mask out when I in a non air-conditioned area like outdoors and it was helpful in a way. It was able to filter out a vast majority of the smell from second-hand smoke and vehicle exhausts. I think it has also filtered out the bigger particles associated with second-hand smoke. Overall, I didn’t feel particularly sick from walking outside and breathing in the air.
But note that I said “vast majority”. That’s because my nose is so sensitive that I was able to smell certain residual smell especially if I walked past an area which had second-hand smoke lingering around. If I’m not wrong, it’s benzene cause it’s the same smell from poorly filtered car exhaust.
During my use, the ventilator is helpful to expel moist, carbon dioxide, and heat from the inside of the mask. Without the ventilator, it actually does get difficult to breathe and very uncomfortable. The area around your mouth would most probably be covered in sweat or water vapor. It’s actually very disgusting if you think about it. I think that’s the case when you use other type of N95 mask like those from 3M, which I have never used but can pretty much extrapolate from my experience with this.
So, if you are looking for a good mask to deal with the environmental aerial toxins and smell associated with living in a dense city and you have a very sensitive nose, this mask is a pretty good investment.
Bran's World 