Cancer is now the leading cause of death in China

BY EARTH POLICY INSTITUTE
27 MAY 2011 6:51 PM


This post was written by Janet Larsen, director of research for the Earth Policy Institute. Additional resources at www.earth-policy.org.

Cancer is now the leading cause of death in China. Chinese Ministry of Health data implicate cancer in close to a quarter of all deaths countrywide. As is common with many countries as they industrialize, the usual plagues of poverty -- infectious diseases and high infant mortality -- have given way to diseases more often associated with affluence, such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

While this might be expected in China's richer cities, where bicycles are fast being traded in for cars and meat consumption is climbing, it also holds true in rural areas. In fact, reports from the countryside reveal a dangerous epidemic of "cancer villages" linked to pollution from some of the very industries propelling China's explosive economy. By pursuing economic growth above all else, China is sacrificing the health of its people, ultimately risking future prosperity.

Lung cancer is the most common cancer in China. Deaths from this typically fatal disease have shot up nearly fivefold since the 1970s. In China's rapidly growing cities, like Shanghai and Beijing, where particulates in the air are often four times higher than in New York City, nearly 30 percent of cancer deaths are from lung cancer.

more
http://www.grist.org/pollution/2011-05-25-cancer-now-leading-cause-of-death-in-china

China is going to continue have huge environmental and health crises in the future unless they get a handle on these issues. It could bring the country down no matter how cheap crap they build and sell to the world.

thinning of the herd

"Liver cancer is more than three times as likely to kill a Chinese farmer as the average global citizen; for stomach cancer, rural Chinese have double the world death rate. These cancers are linked to water polluted by chemicals and sewage, along with other environmental contaminants."

30% of the cancer discussed is lung cancer. This leaves 70% that is not. Three times the liver cancer. Hmmmmmm...

With that large a percentage of the males smoking in such a male dominated society there's not going to be a great deal of concern for having a clean environment.

The Chinese seem to have traded utterly grinding poverty for a thoroughly contaminated environment.

I'm really not sure myself which is worse.

I forget.

Cancer is a slow acting disease whose greatest target is the aging. When infant mortality and childhood deaths decrease, it will become a more significant factor. In America, we die from cancer and heart disease because we lose fewer people at childbirth, accidental deaths on farms, etc. Ideally, we will have an uptick in such diseases as alzheimers, which simply means we are living longer.