Hands up then, who else feels sluggish at the start of 2017?

I doubt I’m the only one who has struggled through the first working week of the year.

Most of it I’ve been wandering around in a sleep coma, working out what I should be doing, never mind where and when I need to be doing it.

The rest has been weighing up (not weighing in, thankfully) whether I should spend the evening out running or eating the rest of the Christmas treats which will otherwise perish.

There was only one winner.

But I know that, give me a few days (or weeks), I will back on track, feeling as fit as a fiddle and ready to take on 21st century living again.

The same cannot be said though for those living with a perennial problem that is one of Brighton and Hove’s biggest killers: air pollution. On a cold, crisp winter’s day, there’s nothing better than a sharp intake of cold air to start the day.

But it would perhaps make you think again about enjoying one of life’s little pleasures knowing it is killing you from the inside. The truth, perhaps an uncomfortable one, is that in many of the streets in Brighton and Hove you are more likely to be killed by pollution than by vehicles.

This isn’t rhetoric; it’s a fact.

In 2015, an estimated 115 people in the city died from the accumulative effects of noxious gasses emitted by cars, lorries and buses. In comparison, one person died from a road accident. In fact, the figure of air pollution deaths eclipses those killed annually by alcohol poisoning and drug overdoses in the city – with only smoking taking more lives.

Another uncomfortable truth is that there’s very few places in the city where you can escape the toxic fumes. Narrow streets combined with a high-density of people means that Brighton and Hove is second only to London in terms of dirty air.

It is also one of 40 of the cities named and shamed by the World Health Organisation for breaching these levels. North Street is one of the worst offenders, in part because of all the buses that trundle up there on a daily basis.

Efforts have been made to improve things here, namely investing in greener buses that use the area. But despite the investment it remains almost 20 per cent above EU standards despite being in a low emission zone for almost two years.

But there’s also Rottingdean High Street, which is far away from the hurly-burly of the city centre. There’s also Lewes Road, which is one of the main arterial roads in and out of the city. About £4 million has been invested in boosting sustainable transport use in this area in recent years. And while the number of cars have dropped, air pollution has risen.

It is not unique to Brighton though.

The village of Storrington has a major problem too. With the main road going right through the village and sometimes mile-long queues in both directions, the fumes cannot escape. How ironic that those who are choking to death are the very same people who believe they have moved to a quiet village for fresh air.

Another irony is that the only organisation that’s been wilfully tackling the issue is the European Union.

That’s the same European Union that the UK is soon to leave. It is Brussels, not London, which has highlighted the problem on an international basis. It is Brussels, not London, which is providing money to tackle to the problem – either through investment in sustainable transport or supporting green industries. It is Brussels, not London, which has issued the threat of million pound fines against countries which do not tackle the problem.

With Brexit looming it seems the UK government will soon have no one to smack them on the bottom as they bury their heads in the smog.

Yes, it may not be the sexiest of topics to get us all out of the January slump. But it would nice to kick start 2017 with a resolution to tackle a health problem that will otherwise plague our city for years to come.

The Argus: Simon Rogan will be cooking a winter menu for the luxurious drive-thru

Award-winning chef Simon Rogan is to create a one-day drive-through with a difference.

Most of you will only be familiar with the ultra-snappy service provided by fast food chains which means invited guests can have food delivered without leaving the car.

Rogan is taking the McDonald’s formula and revving it up – by serving Michelin star food to invited guests.

Now I’m all for foodie innovation but this, I feel, really takes the biscuit.

Slate plates, edible flowers and tasty smoke are all fine – but when it comes to drive-throughs, there’s only one big m that will get me to pull over ...