Wearing a mask may reduce but does NOT eliminate the risk of contracting diseases or infection.  See: Interim Recommendations for Facemask

Before wearing an I Can Breathe!® ACF mask, repeat customers report they used to get sick when traveling by bus or plane with people coughing. For example:  Psychologist Barbara Weinbaum, PhD, who knows the difference between anxiety disorder and something in the air wrote. "I can face air travel again without fear of illness now that I wear an I Can Breathe! Honeycomb Mask with carbon filter. For years, I developed serious colds following plane trips. The colds turned into pneumonia and bronchitis, at times requiring four-month recuperation. Now I also wear the mask when I'm in a highly polluted area and when traveling by bus. On my Elderhostel trip to Chile, I was the only person who wasn't hacking and coughing during the entire trip. Thanks for my health."   

An Environmental Engineer with broad international experience in air pollution measurement and control, Mark Hodges is Principal Consultant for Environmental Forward Observer, LLC. After evaluating the I Can Breathe! Honeycomb ACF Pollution Mask compared to other masks while on assignment in Kabul and Kathmandu, speaks to the issues of a good seal and comfort: "The data I have is qualitative from the perspectives of fit, convenience, comfort, durability, and perceptibly cleaner air breathed while using the mask. It's numerous positive features notwithstanding, good fit and seal are essential, and the I Can Breathe! ACF Pollution Mask fits and seals well. Further, it is comfortable, which is very important as people tend to take a mask off after a while if it is uncomfortable or restricts breathing."

Though I Can Breathe!® masks seal well and have adjustable ear loops to fit most people they are NOT "cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as medical devices."  For details on FDA approved masks see: http://www.flu.gov/

Be aware: "Neither a facemask nor a respirator will give complete protection from the flu. That is why it is important to wash your hands often, cover your coughs and sneezes with a handkerchief or your arm, and avoid crowds and gatherings during a pandemic. To learn more about these and other issues relating to pandemic influenza, visit www.pandemicflu.gov."  Advice on how to wear a mask if within 6 feet of someone coughing or sneezing.

Air pollution is a continuing challenge which may be faced with a mask until the air is clear.

from Charles D. Connor, President and CEO, introduction to the American Lung Association 2009 State of the Air.

During test events in Beijing, elite athletes experienced severe respiratory symptoms from air pollution. For over two years before the August 2008 games in Beijing, I Can Breathe!® ACF Pollution Mask was evaluated in air pollution five to ten times what the World Health Organization recommends is healthy. Two international teams purchased this mask for every athlete and staff member traveling to and touring in Asia.