Tow #25: China and the Toll of Smoking

This informative editorial was about China's tobacco problem. "More than 300 million people in China are smokers, and about one million of them are killed each year." That is a high number, showing the devastating effects of tobacco. This editorial talks about the World Health Organization urging Chinese authorities to use graphic warnings of the harm cigarettes cause, right on the packages. This was written in context of China's problem with tobacco, urging that something must be done in order to help reduce smoking and all the health risks associated with it.

This editorial, written by the New York Times Editorial board was extremely informative, considering it was written by a group of highly educated and well-rounded journalists. This editorial really provided a lot of statistics and that served the purpose of illustrating the severity of the tobacco problem in China. "Cigarettes kill about one million Chinese each year. That number could reach three million by 2030, if the rate of smoking is not reduced." This statistic alone attacks the audience's logic and emotion because it helps the audience, (Chinese authorities), to really understand the crisis in their country, urging them to do something.

All of these statistics mainly appeal to emotion because Chinese authorities can see the high numbers of smokers and understand that they need to do more than just write "Smoking is Hazardous to Your Health" on the box, they need to physically put vivid imagery of oral cancer, lung cancer, heart disease, in order for the Chinese to think twice about buying a pack of cigarettes. If these images would be put on the packaging, the Chinese would be disgusted and chances are they would restrain from buying cigarettes. 

This editorial also targets the Chinese authorities, calling them out on the fact that although they are making money on selling tobacco products, the money that they are spending on medical costs for tobacco related illnesses, outweigh the revenue that they are making. "7 percent to 10 percent of total annual central government revenues" does not make it okay for a million people to be dying each year. It also doesn't make it effective in terms of the costs that Chinese authorities will have to pay in treating these people.

I personally think that this editorial had a good central argument and backed it with a lot of evidence and statistics. I think it really drove home the point of all the negative effects of smoking and why there should be graphics on cigarette packaging to prevent smoking.