Smog: A Threat to Human Lungs

If you travel to China or Korea in April, you’d barely see anyone walking outside--and if you do, you’d see something like a tiny face bandaged in an over-sized white mask.

From http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/19/asia/china-smog-red-alert/

Springtime marks the start of the dreadful sandstorm season in Southeast Asia. This, along with the year-round smog, makes it very difficult to breathe without wearing a mask. As kids living in Seoul, we’ve been constantly reminded at home and in school to cover up our faces as much as possible when going outside. Growing up, we’ve become so accustomed to the polluted spring air that a sky without dust and sand and pollutants was bizarre. This is probably why no one in China really understood how detrimental air pollution was to their (his or her) health--not until Dr. Zhao Xiaogang, a Chinese doctor working at Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, discussed the relationship between smog and lung cancer. According to an article in Quartz Media, Dr. Xiaogang’s eight-line poem, written in the perspective of cancer, effectively addresses all types of factors that can cause lung cancer. His poem drew attention not only to the known carcinogens but also to factors, such as smog, that had once been neglected in the country. Dr. Xiaogang was brave in that he attempted to inform the public of a serious problem, risking the possibility that he might be punished by the Chinese government. (According to the article, the Chinese government tends to stay silent on issues that may target them (it). In the case of smog, if people become increasingly aware of the dangers associated with air pollution, they may blame the government for investing in factories that produce dangerous chemicals and pollutants.)

Whether Dr. Xiaogang’s poem will induce Chinese policy makers to shut down factories still merits more discussion. But because his poem gained so much support in a country where freedom of speech is highly limited, Dr. Xiaogang deserves to be praised.

Click on this link to read Dr. Xiaogang’s poem and/or to read the article about it.

https://qz.com/880752/a-doctors-poem-is-going-viral-in-china-and-raising-awareness-that-smog-surprise-is-a-cause-of-cancer/