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A report into the impact of air pollution has listed Chatham as one of the worst areas in the country for air quality.
The think tank Centre for Cities reported one in 16 deaths in the town can be linked to long-term exposure to particulates.
The town was also listed in the top 15 places which recorded the highest Daily Air Quality Indexes.
Centre for Cities looked at the impact of pollutants in the UK's 63 largest towns and cities.
Referring to data collected in 2017, it found London had the highest number of estimated deaths caused by long-term exposure to PM2.5 – particulates with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, or about 3% the diameter of a human hair.
While London had 3,799, Chatham had 137. It was the only town in the county to be analysed in the report.
The report reads: "In places like Chatham or Worthing, PM2.5 is almost exclusively driven by combustion in commercial, institutional, and domestic activities."
PM2.5 is emitted during the combustion of solid and liquid fuels, and long-term exposure is linked to aggravating heart and lung conditions and causing cardiac arrhythmias, heart attacks, and respiratory effects such as asthma attacks and bronchitis.
The report has prompted Labour councillors to urge Medway Council to apply for government funding to become the country's first fully-electric bus town, which was announced by the Department for Transport last month.
Cllr Simon Curry (Lab), councillor for Luton and Wayfield, said: "Austerity makes it difficult for Medway Council to invest in green technology, but this report highlights just how important it is for us to take action now.
"The huge demand for housing and other development in Medway means that the air quality in our urban areas will only get worse.
"Medway Council should apply for government funding to be the first all-electric bus town."
The council joined others across the county to declare a climate emergency in April last year.
It operates two air quality monitoring stations, both of which are part of Defra’s automatic urban rural network – a system of key locations across the country that inform the national picture for air quality.
Addressing the Centre for Cities report, the council pointed out until recently, Medway was the only authority in Kent measuring PM2.5 which is why there is no comparative data for other towns in the county.
The council formally adopted its current air quality action plan in December 2015.
The plan contains 12 measures to improve air quality, ranging from transport and highways measures through to public education and advice.
The council's monitoring data shows background levels of PM2.5 away from busy roads and population centres are already at the World Health Organisation guideline levels, but levels at the roadside urban monitoring site in Chatham were slightly higher.
Ways in which the council aims to tackle the impact of air pollution include its community walking and cycling events and a car-sharing scheme.
Members of the council's cabinet are due to consider the progress made into establishing its Climate Change Action plan at their meeting tomorrow.
Breathing in north Kent air is the equivalent to smoking 140 cigarettes a year, according to the latest figures.
KentOnline earlier reported air pollution in six areas of Kent exceeds toxic air guidelines set out by the World Health Organisation - putting the lives of nearly one million residents at risk.
