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A disturbing report at AlertNet describes "living in Cairo to be same as smoking a pack a day."

I was not surprised because I've seen pollution with my eyes and smiled the bad smoke from my hotel room's balcony every time I visited Egypt.

Living in Cairo Is the Same as Smoking a Pack a Day
By Leslie-Ann Boctor

The average resident of Cairo ingests more than 20 times the acceptable level of air pollution a day, the same as a pack of cigarettes.

Air pollution is so bad in Cairo that living in the sprawling city of 18 million residents is said to be akin to smoking 20 cigarettes a day. According to the World Health Organisation, the average Cairene ingests more than 20 times the acceptable level of air pollution a day.

A 2002 World Bank report estimates that pollution causes 2.42 billion dollars worth of environmental damage each year, about five percent of Egypt's annual gross domestic product.

Industry is to blame, in part, the worst offenders being factories that burn mazot for power. Mazot is the heavy oil left over after more valuable fuel products have been extracted from crude oil; when burnt, it emits substantial amounts of the greenhouse gases said to cause global warming.

Read more here!