From Los Angeles Times:
China is already home to 16 of the planet’s 20 most heavily polluted cities — a noxious consequence of its double-digit economic growth. Now researchers have worse news for the nation’s beleaguered lower classes: The air inside their homes is up to 10 times worse than the prevailing gloom outside.
Seven of 10 homes still burn coal and wood for heat, and half of Chinese men smoke — a toxic combination of indoor pollution that raises dire questions about the fate of this industrial giant’s long-term public health.
Over the next quarter-century, 83 million Chinese — a number equaling nearly a third of the total U.S. population — will die of lung cancer and respiratory ailments unless cigarette smoking and indoor fuel-burning are reduced, a new study by Harvard’s School of Public Health warns.
