Quote:
Originally Posted by Gulfcoast
They wear masks because of the horrible pollution in their countries.
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That is one reason. First and foremost is health. Here's a fun article written in 2014, explaning the history of mask-wearing in Japan. It dates back to the the early 20th century, as a result of the 1918 Influenza pandemic.
A quick history of why Asians wear surgical masks in public — Quartz
If it really filtered out pollution, then the front of those masks would be black from the soot after a few hours. It isn't - therefore it doesn't.