Dispute

• In February 2002, Consumer Reports issued a report critical of Ionic Breeze, finding it "unimpressive," stating that it "removed very few particles" and, comparing it to a competing producet, concluded "one works, one doesn't." In October 2004, it issued a longer and even more critical report, giving the Ionic Breeze its lowest rating. The Sharper Image filed suit for libel, lost the suit, and soon after filed for bankruptcy. Consumer Reports has continued to issue negative reports about the device, most recently in 2010.
  
  

Does the Ionic Breeze Clean Air?

• In one of its most disparaging reports, published in October 2007, Consumer Reports noted that if you left a table in a room, airborne particles would fall on it, and asked if you would then call the table an air-cleaning device. An online search will turn up dozens of equally critical reports about Ionic Breeze. Almost all of these are thinly disguised "reports" by sellers of competing products. Blogging advocates, meanwhile, write positive anecdotal reports. If Consumer Reports' relatively objective view is correct, the Ionic Breeze will clean air, but not very well.
  
  

Do Ionizers Provide Health Benefits?

• The Sharper Image has never claimed direct health benefits from the use of the Ionic Breeze other than the benefit of cleaner air (reduced allergens, for instance). Since 1960, the Food and Drug Administration has specifically prohibited sellers from making health claims for the device. Despite this, online "research" portals associated with sellers of ionizing devices cite Russian medical research articles making extravagant health claims, such as "increased levels of oxygen in the blood" and "resistance to cold, to infection." U.S. researchers have been unable to confirm any health benefits.
  
  

Concerns

• Advocates note that ozone (the naturally occurring byproduct of air ionization) is "completely safe and effective" when occurring within FDA and Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards of 0.05 parts per million. The FDA, on the other hand, makes no assertion about "effectiveness" and notes that exposure to ozone above 0.05 ppm is "unhealthy." Larger and mechanically more effective ionizers can easily exceed this level; Consumer Reports, however, notes that while the Ionic Breeze isn't a very effective air-cleaner, it also doesn't generate a lot of ozone. Consumer Reports does note, however, that misuse can generate levels of ozone exceeding FDA limits.
  
  

Consensus View

• Relatively objective sources, such as Consumer Reports, criticize the air-cleaning effectiveness of the Ionic Breeze in particular; subjective sources, bloggers and industry-related "researchers" report that it does the job. While larger capacity ionizers can be dangerous, in general the Ionic Breeze is considered reasonably safe and unlikely to generate ozone levels above FDA limits. Claims of health benefits such as increased immune resistance continue, but not from accredited scientific sources.