Tobacco smoking in China: a pulmonary health crisis

China's economy has had tremendous growth through the principle of command economy, where profitable private industries become government-owned and managed. The tobacco industry, which generates 10% of the annual governmental income from the country's over 300 million smokers, serves as a prime example. The present review takes an in-depth look at how the success of the government's tobacco industry has caused a pulmonary health crisis for the country with the world's largest population; and in turn, poses a threat to global lung health.

China's emergence as a world leader has allowed insight to the nation's health system. Recent studies have shown that China has the highest prevalence and the worst outcomes of smoking related pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Similarly, the rates of lung cancer have grown exponentially over the last decade with China now accounting for 36% of annual new cases globally. The burden of disease is detrimental to the health system, places financial hardship on patients, and threatens the economy and work force.

The present review should serve as a call for research, preventive health initiatives, and governmental policy to reform tobacco production, social acceptance, and use.