You Know You're In Trouble When

An enterprising, multi-millionaire starts selling clean air in soft drink cans.

Chen Guangbiao, whose wealth is estimated at $740 million according to the Hurun Report, sells his cans of air for five yuan (A75¢) each. It comes with atmospheric flavours including pristine Tibet, post-industrial Taiwan and revolutionary Yan'an, the Communist Party's early base area.

 

 Mr Chen said he wanted to make a point that China's air was turning so bad that the idea of bottled fresh air was no longer fanciful. ''If we don't start caring for the environment then after 20 or 30 years our children and grandchildren might be wearing gas masks and carrying oxygen tanks,'' Mr Chen said.

As the smog worsens, residents of Beijing have begun snapping up products to survive the toxic air.

Chris Buckley, proprietor of Torana Clean Air Centre, said there had been a particularly dramatic increase in the flow of local Chinese customers through his stores, reflecting more open coverage in China's tightly controlled media as well as the severity of the pollution.

''We used to be told in days gone by that 'it's mist and fog' but I think the game is up now,'' said Mr Buckley, who sells air purifying machines and pollution masks.