Smog as risky as smoke

A new study conducted by researchers at Nanjing University, China, which analyzed about 3.03 million deaths recorded in 74 cities in 2013, found that 31.8 percent of the deaths could be linked to smog, according to a story in the South China Morning Post relayed by the TMA.

If these figures are correct, everyday life in some parts of the country is about as risky as is cigarette smoking.

According to the study, the air was most toxic in the cities of Baoding, Shijiazhuang and Handan, with each reporting more than 30,000 deaths in 2013 that could be pollution-linked. The study supports a June 2016 report from the International Energy Agency, which claimed that air pollution has shortened life expectancy by about 25 percent in China.