Editorial: Nothing wrong with the pong

Call me mad, but one of the best things I love about Rotorua is its rotten egg smell.

I often fly to my hometown in Timaru to visit my family and when I fly back, I enjoy the whiff of our city as the plane circles Lake Rotorua ready for landing.

Once you smell that sulphur, you know you're home.

So as a local, I'm thrilled to now know that so-called "pong" isn't making me sick.

An international five-year study published this week has found Rotorua's hydrogen sulphide levels has no negative impacts for people suffering from asthma - something which has long been debated among medical experts.

This finding is great news for our city and should hopefully stop the long-held myths that hydrogen sulphide is bad for our breathing.

Strangely, some might say, the study has found asthma symptoms, particularly wheezing, were not reported as often among the highest exposure group, raising the question that the supposedly harmful gas might be beneficial for people with asthma.

That raises a whole new potential marketing tool for us here in Rotorua. I can see the adverts now - "Rotorua, where you can have a great time and breathe easy".

But before we go getting too excited, it's important to note the experts have pointed out the findings only relate to the general population living and working in Rotorua. Therefore no conclusion can be drawn relating to higher concentrations of hydrogen sulphide.

In the meantime, suck it up and enjoy.