The Globalist Marketplace Quiz: China Lights Up by The Globalist

Special Feature > Global Health The Globalist Marketplace Quiz: China Lights Up
By The Globalist \| Monday, February 08, 2010

While the world is discussing greenhouse gas emissions, what about another emissions threat — the one emanating from smokers? This edition of The Globalist Quiz on public radio’s Marketplace explores whether the number of smokers in China is really larger than the U.S. population.

Editor's Note: Click here to listen to this feature, which aired on public radio's Marketplace on February 4, 2010.

Is it true or false that the number of smokers in China is larger than the U.S. population?

The correct answer is True. Of the currently 1.3 billion Chinese, about 350 million smoke — 27% of the country's population. In comparison, the United States has 308 million people.

Each year, China consumes up to one-third of the tobacco products sold worldwide, while it accounts for just one-fifth of the world population. The end result is that up to one million Chinese die each year from diseases directly linked to smoking, such as lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

While China accounts for 30% of the world's smokers, the share stands at about 12% in India and about 5% each in Indonesia, Russia and the United States.

To combat the problem, China has recently recruited Houston Rockets basketball star Yao Ming, a huge star in China, to join the wife of China's vice president to lead an anti-tobacco campaign. Yao was named an ambassador to the Chinese Association on Tobacco.

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