The World, My Stuff and Me


The World, My Stuff and Me

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Wanted for questioning - one teenager from the UK high street.

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On trial - their stuff. Captured!

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Name - Samantha. Age - 14.

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Wearing - jeans.

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So, Samantha, how many pairs of jeans do you own?

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I've got too many to count, to be honest.

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I'm in skinnies at the moment, cos all my friends have got skinnies,

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but I've got lights, I've got darks, I've got cropped, I've got ripped - I've got everything, really.

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Quite a wardrobe! And lots of countries helped make each pair.

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Ready for question one?

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Globalisation?

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Yes,

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now click and drag the icon to find out how jeans play a part in this.

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When you spend your cash on a new pair of jeans, the chances are they were designed in Europe,

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the cotton was grown and picked in the USA, shipped to India to be cut,

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dyed, textured, stitched, riveted, zipped, tagged and stickered.

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The buttons might come from China, the thread from Turkey or the zips from Africa.

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Boxed up, the jeans are sent around the world.

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All this travel, not great for the environment!

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But increased productivity can help cut poverty in less wealthy countries.

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And global competition makes prices lower.

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So, this is globalisation.

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But are we all winners?

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So what do you think, Samantha?

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I was really surprised. I thought it was only one or two countries that made them.

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Well, that's globalisation for you.

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But of course it can take its toll on the environment.

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6,000?

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Yes, a staggering amount!

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Now click to find out what other ingredients go into a pair of jeans.

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For one pair of jeans, you may need the following...

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Thirsty cotton plants and a handful of workers.

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6,000 litres of water - that's like flushing the loo 450 times.

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Pesticide and fertiliser - kills bugs and helps cotton grow.

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Once it's picked and processed, add one vat of dye to get them blue.

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For a worn look, sandblast with silica - can cause lung disease if inhaled.

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For a vintage look, add a splash of chemicals and bleaches.

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Perhaps a dash of formaldehyde to keep them wrinkle-free - also used to preserve corpses.

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-Serve with a trendy label.

-Mmm, delicious!

-But is it?

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All our clothes have some impact on workers and the environment.

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But does our appetite for changing fashion make it worse?

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What do you think about all those ingredients?

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I thought that it was really nasty, to be honest, because I really feel sorry

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for the workers who have to suffer all the nasty chemicals every single day.

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Well, many companies protect their workers, so it's safe.

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India?

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Yes. Click to find out why it's India.

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We're hooked on denim jeans.

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Three pairs are sold each second in the UK.

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And we import 50 million kilos of denim from around the world in a year.

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We can't get enough of jeans, because they're easy on our pockets.

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But at what cost to the people who made them?

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There's always been an ugly side to fashion.

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In the past, workers here were forced into long hours in sweatshops.

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But as fashion became big news,

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globalisation meant companies could cash in by moving their factories

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to developing countries, like India, where the workforce is big and the costs are low.

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Today, India is one of the largest exporters of textiles in the world.

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It means the economy is booming, with lots of people getting rich.

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But millions of people in India are still very poor - living on less than £1 a day.

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And the young are often the group most affected by poverty,

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with about 13 million children work illegally in India,

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sometimes in clothes factories like this one. Conditions can be hard.

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They often work long hours, even eat, sleep and live in the factory.

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It sounds tough, but many children don't have a choice.

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So a child working might keep a family from going hungry.

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The Indian government and charities are working hard to improve things for these children.

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We should stop buying these cheap clothes, right? Well, maybe not.

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If we boycott those stores that we like shopping in,

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what we're actually going to do is mean that people

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will lose their jobs and their livelihoods.

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So, this is complicated.

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If we stop spending, the poor could get poorer.

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But if adults got a decent wage, children might not have to work.

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So what can we do, as shoppers?

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We've got lots of power here actually, as consumers,

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because we matter to the companies, so what's important is

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for us as consumers, to put pressure on them to do the right thing.

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Many of our shops are signed up to ethical codes. Do you know which ones?

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And would you be willing to pay more for your jeans if it meant fair wages for workers?

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Would you, Samantha?

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Erm, I... Kind of.

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Cos I wouldn't really want to, because I don't really have a lot of pocket money.

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But then again, if it means the kids wouldn't have to work as much,

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I think I might probably buy more expensive jeans.

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Well, it's also down to our shops to source from ethical suppliers.

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Thanks, Samantha, you're released.

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Wanted for questioning - one teenager from the UK high street.

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On trial - their stuff. Captured!

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Name - Shane. Age - 16.

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In his wallet - cash.

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How much cash have you got on you?

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-Millions.

-Nice.

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Have you got a bank account too?

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I do, but I'm not sure how much is in it, to be honest with you.

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Well, your savings in a bank grow with interest.

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Ready for question one?

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The Bank of England.

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Correct. Click and drag the first icon to find out

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how the rate affects spending habits.

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Interest rate - what is it?

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If you borrow cash from a bank, you have to pay the money back,

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plus a little extra, called interest.

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But if you save money in a bank, then the bank pays you interest, for effectively borrowing your cash.

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The rate of interest can affect our spending habits.

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If the rate is low, we borrow and spend.

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If the rate is high, we save.

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So who decides the interest rate?

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Well, the banks do,

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based on the rate set by the Bank of England, the UK's central bank.

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So the Bank can use the interest rate to control the flow of money...

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..and keep our economy stable.

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Are you more of a spender or a saver, Shane?

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Both really - I like to save so I can spend a lot.

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It lends it to other people.

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Correct. Play the next film to find out

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how banks make money from customers like you.

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Instead of storing it under the bed, most of us put money in the bank.

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So what does the bank do with our cash?

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Well, it puts it in a big pot with everyone else's money.

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But it doesn't stay there.

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Our money is lent out to other people as interest payments and loans.

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And how does a bank make a profit?

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It pays less interest to customers like you

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than it charges its borrowers, and it keeps the difference.

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Money makes money. Sounds like a piece of cake, doesn't it?

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But sometimes banks run into trouble.

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The banks' bank, The Bank of England, keeps a look out.

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It can give banks emergency loans, so the flow of lending and borrowing doesn't dry up.

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It also prints our banknotes. There are about two billion notes in circulation -

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in our pockets, tills, safes and banks.

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And maybe even under the bed.

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Two billion bank notes - plenty to go round, you'd think.

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I'm actually quite surprised by it. Cos in a recession people say money is hard to come by, and hard to get,

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but with two billion about, it doesn't really make sense.

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Yes, good point. But in a recession, the flow of money slows.

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Two years?

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Unlucky - it's six months.

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Now click to find out about global recession.

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Recession - what's it all about?

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Well, we're officially in recession when our economic activity slows down over six months.

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This activity is measured by the GDP - that's Gross Domestic Product.

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Yeah, it might sound boring. But hang on, it's pretty important.

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The GDP tells us how healthy our economy is

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by measuring the value of all the stuff we make and supply in the UK.

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The more stuff we buy, the more we make.

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But in a recession, this activity slows down.

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Companies make less money so can't afford as many staff.

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So unemployment rises.

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If you are out of work, you'll probably spend less.

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Even if you do have a job, you're likely to be more careful.

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It's a vicious circle. Less work means less money to spend.

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Less spending means less demand for products, which means less work.

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Round and round it goes. Things could get tricky if you have a mortgage.

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A mortgage is a loan you take out to buy a house and pay off gradually.

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If you earn less and can't keep up payments, you could lose your house.

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In a global economy like ours, problems in one country can have a ripple effect.

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Two organisations try to limit the damage of a global money crisis.

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The G20, a group of the world's biggest economies that club together.

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But not everyone's in the club. And the International Monetary Fund,

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which can lend money to its member countries.

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In 2007, some American banks were too risky with their lending.

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They lent money they didn't have, and what's worse, to people who couldn't pay it back.

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This got the banks into trouble.

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The problems quickly spread to other banks around the world,

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reducing how much people could borrow and spend.

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This led to global recession.

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In the UK, some banks were affected so badly they collapsed.

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Taxpayers' money was used to keep them in business

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or "bail" them out. Was that the right thing to do?

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Do you think the banks should have been bailed out, Shane?

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Yeah and no. Yeah, because it's the sort of helpful thing to do

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to help each other out, and no, because,

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if the banks have been silly enough to lend money out without really caring,

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then if you bail them out, they're just going to carry on doing the same thing.

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A hard decision. Even world leaders couldn't agree.

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Thanks, Shane! You're released.

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Wanted for questioning - one teenager from the UK high street.

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On trial - their stuff.

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Captured!

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Name - Manpreet. Age - 16.

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In his pocket - mobile phone.

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How often do you get a new phone, Manpreet?

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I probably get a new phone every year or so,

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but compared to my friends, that's nothing -

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they get it every five months, they always want the latest thing.

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Everyone likes to have brand-new technology.

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Now, ready for a question?

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65 million, I think...

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It's actually 30 million, but that's still a lot.

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To find out what happens when you chuck your old phone, click and drag the first icon.

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Keeping up with fashion means we change our mobiles as often as our hairstyles.

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That's 30 million new phones a year in the UK.

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What happens when you discard your mobile for a slicker model?

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When we chuck 'em, our phones are sorted into electronic waste, or e-waste, and often sent illegally

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to Asia or Africa, forming "e-mountains"

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at makeshift recycling plants.

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They're burnt by workers to extract precious metals, releasing deadly toxins.

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Should we stop buying so many phones?

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Or crack down on illegal dumping?

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The United Nations has come up with a solution.

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It wants to allow this e-waste trade to continue,

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but train people how to extract the metals safely

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and effectively, so that more metals can be recycled for money.

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Do you recycle old phones, Manpreet?

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Unfortunately, no, I just tend to leave it in a shoebox or something.

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Tut-tut. The metals in your phone can be valuable and used again.

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An African mine.

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Yes. Now click to find out how demand for precious metals

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-is linked to a deadly conflict in Africa.

-OK.

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A mobile phone contains more than 45 chemical elements from all over the world.

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Some phones include metals

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from Africa's Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Tungsten - that's what makes your phone vibrate.

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Tantalum - it stores electricity.

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No sound without it.

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Tin - helps make the circuit board.

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And a bit of bling. Gold coats the wires.

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These minerals start life peacefully in the deep, dark mine.

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But on the surface, DRC has a long, troubled history of war.

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And the minerals play a part in it.

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The deadliest war since World War Two took place in DRC from 1998 to 2003. So there's peace now?

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Don't bet on it.

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The government's army is still fighting rebel soldiers.

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In war, normal economic practices

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get shot to pieces.

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In DRC, that meant companies left, scared of the violence, leaving local miners unprotected.

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In swept the armed rebels, who took control of the mines, mafia-style.

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These rebels terrorised the locals and forced poor miners to pay them tax.

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The gangs then smuggle the minerals out the country for extra cash.

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So what can be done?

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DRC's government has taken action and banned mining in three provinces.

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But mining makes up more than a quarter

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of the DRC's economic output, so they need a long-term solution.

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They could nationalise the mines, so the state owns them.

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Or persuade companies that had left to come back, raising tax.

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Or organise workers into cooperatives for protection.

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But to add to the pile of problems, mineral resources in the DRC will run out soon.

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What will they do then?

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Western governments are doing something too -

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writing new laws, so mobile phone companies take responsibility for where components come from.

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It's a step in the right direction.

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But there are no easy solutions to bring stability to the DRC and its people.

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What did you think of that film?

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I was quite shocked, because, like, people are suffering just for,

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just for something silly like a mobile phone,

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Well, now I've got a more positive story for you, also from Africa.

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Is this true or false?

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-True?

-Yes!

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Now click to find out about a revolutionary new phone service.

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Did you know, a lack of bank accounts in Kenya has slowed its economy?

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But now that's changing, thanks to aid money and the mobile phone!

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Only 19% of Kenyans have a bank account, but 70% have a mobile.

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Not just to gossip! In 2007, a new service was set up with aid money.

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Now people can load money onto their phone and, with a simple text,

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send money to someone else's phone, hundreds of miles away

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or in the local supermarket.

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It's really changing people's lives and boosting Kenya's economy.

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Does it surprise you aid money helped pay for this technology?

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Yeah, that kind of did surprise me actually, because I thought that was, like, I thought that aid money

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was supposed to be towards, like, food and, like, to help towards poverty.

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Well, this does help to reduce poverty in a different kind of way.

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Thanks, Manpreet! You're released.

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Wanted for questioning - one teenager from the UK high street.

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On trial - their stuff.

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Captured!

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Name - Sophie.

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Age - 14.

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In her hand bag - make-up.

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So, Sophie, what kind of make-up do you like buying?

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I like buying eye shadow, and, if so,

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I like buying illuminous pink or sparkly brown, because I think it makes me look nice.

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You're not the only one.

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Beauty is big business worldwide.

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Prepare for a question.

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China?

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Yes. To find out why China's beauty market is booming,

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click the top icon.

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Every year, we use more and more make up, mascara and moisturiser to make ourselves look and feel better.

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It's the norm, right? Not for everyone.

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While the West was full of long-haired hippies, China was a make-up desert.

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When the communist leader Chairman Mao came to power, he banned anything that stunk of perfume,

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covered up pimples or made hair change colour,

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saying they were too decadent for a country of revolutionary workers.

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A world of no lip gloss or hair products?

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Hard to imagine here, where there's big money in an industry

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aimed at making us look...beautiful?

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But fast forward a few decades, and China has an £11 billion beauty market.

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How on earth did that happen?

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Chairman Mao died in 1976.

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The doors slowly opened to the world's economy, sending make-up brands wild with excitement.

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A billion new customers with more lips than America and Europe combined.

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That means money - and lots of it.

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Right now, the urban Chinese are among the world's biggest consumers of beauty products.

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In the cities, they're gobbling up luxury goods as fast as they can get them,

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although it's a very different story in rural China, where hundreds of millions still live in poverty.

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But as Chinese demand grows, global brands are changing for new tastes.

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Using ingredients like black sesame and ginseng.

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The doors don't just swing one way.

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The Chinese make lots of things that the rest of the world wants to buy.

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That's partly why the country's wealth is rising so fast.

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China isn't just a top shopper in beauty products.

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The country now has a huge buying power full stop.

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It's changing the shape of the global economy.

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Do you know, China is on track to overtake America as the world's global economic superpower?

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-Quite a thought!

-Well, I've only heard about rich people in China,

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but for the poor people, it's quite sad that they can't buy make-up.

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Yes, there's a big gap between the rich urban Chinese and the rural poor.

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Coal?

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There's no coal in your lippie.

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But there are other surprising ingredients.

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Click to find out.

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One lipstick can be made up of over 25 ingredients, from all over the world.

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It might include petroleum jelly, from oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Collagen, the stuff celebs inject to get rid of wrinkles, which comes from the skin of Australian cows.

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Palm oil, farmed by plantation workers in Indonesia.

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And natural ingredients like American aloe vera...

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..Chinese beeswax...

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and cocoa butter from farms in Africa's Cote d'Ivoire.

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Some farmers of natural products like these

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are protected by fair trade schemes, so get better working conditions,

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training and a fair price guarantee.

0:21:320:21:34

The first fair trade beauty products arrived in the UK in 2009,

0:21:340:21:39

and 140 products now bear the hallmark. Do yours?

0:21:390:21:43

So, Sophie, do you buy fair trade?

0:21:440:21:48

I would buy fair trade chocolate, but I've never heard about fair trade make-up.

0:21:480:21:53

Aren't they more expensive?

0:21:530:21:54

That's true - fair trade can cost more. It's your choice.

0:21:540:21:59

Inflation?

0:22:040:22:05

Well done. Click to find out how inflation works.

0:22:050:22:09

Inflation affects how much money you spend on something.

0:22:120:22:17

If your parents bought posh perfume in 1980, it cost £19.

0:22:170:22:21

But now it's £60. Why?

0:22:210:22:23

Ingredient costs might have increased or workers' wages gone up.

0:22:230:22:28

Or, if we're feeling flush, we start buying more, so there's less to go round.

0:22:280:22:32

The less of something there is, the more valuable it is.

0:22:320:22:36

But imagine if the price kept going up and up uncontrollably!

0:22:360:22:39

-In steps the Bank of England, to make it more expensive to borrow cash.

-Thank you!

0:22:390:22:45

So we all have to tighten our belts.

0:22:450:22:47

Demand for perfume decreases, there is a bigger supply, and the price goes down.

0:22:470:22:52

Did you know the bank could impact the cost of things we buy?

0:22:530:22:57

No, that's quite surprising. I thought it was the shops that made up the prices.

0:22:570:23:01

Well, now you know!

0:23:010:23:02

Thanks, Sophie! You're released.

0:23:020:23:05

Wanted for questioning - one teenager from the UK high street.

0:23:100:23:14

On trial - their stuff.

0:23:140:23:17

Captured! Name - Jack.

0:23:170:23:20

Age - 16.

0:23:200:23:24

In his pocket - cigarettes.

0:23:240:23:26

You know it's illegal to buy cigarettes at your age, Jack?

0:23:260:23:29

You have to be 18.

0:23:290:23:31

Yeah, I don't really buy them for myself -

0:23:310:23:33

I kind of, like, nick them off my mates.

0:23:330:23:35

And it's a filthy habit and also very dangerous to your health.

0:23:350:23:40

Yeah, I know that, but I don't smoke all the time.

0:23:400:23:43

I'm what's called a social smoker.

0:23:430:23:45

Question one coming up.

0:23:450:23:47

-75%.

-Correct.

0:23:540:23:57

Now to find out why cigarettes are taxed so heavily, click and drag the top icon.

0:23:570:24:01

When people buy a pack of cigarettes, about 75% of the money goes straight to the government.

0:24:030:24:09

The rate is set in the budget by the UK's money keeper, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

0:24:090:24:14

Britain has one of the highest tax levels in the world for cigarettes,

0:24:140:24:17

allowing the government to raise £10 billion in tax each year.

0:24:170:24:22

Sounds a lot, doesn't it? But it doesn't meet the costs.

0:24:220:24:25

Britain's annual smoking bill is £13.5 billion.

0:24:250:24:30

Health is the big expense -

0:24:300:24:31

treating sickly smokers.

0:24:310:24:34

Also days off work and loss of productivity.

0:24:340:24:37

And we have to pay to clean up butts and fire damage.

0:24:370:24:40

In fact, every cigarette smoked costs the country 6.5 pence.

0:24:400:24:45

So should smokers have to cough up even more in tax?

0:24:450:24:49

So, Jack, should smokers have to pay more in tax?

0:24:500:24:53

Yeah, I guess it's only fair, but some people might not be able to afford it.

0:24:530:24:57

Well, then, more people will be forced to kick the habit.

0:24:570:25:01

Better for people's health and our economy.

0:25:010:25:04

The black market.

0:25:110:25:13

Yes. Now play the film to find out about cigarette smuggling.

0:25:130:25:17

Cigarettes are one of the world's most widely smuggled products,

0:25:200:25:23

with one in every ten trafficked by criminal gangs.

0:25:230:25:26

Many are well-known brands, snuck past border police to dodge tax.

0:25:260:25:30

Cheap cigarettes! But at whose expense?

0:25:300:25:34

Governments worldwide lose out on billions in tax,

0:25:340:25:36

money that could help pay for hospitals, health and housing.

0:25:360:25:39

Counterfeit crime is big business too,

0:25:390:25:41

with fake branded cigarettes often stuffed full of cheap poisons, then smuggled worldwide for big profit.

0:25:410:25:48

Even more dangerous to smoke than normal.

0:25:480:25:50

It calls for a worldwide crackdown.

0:25:500:25:52

But how do you police such a global crime?

0:25:520:25:56

It's a big problem, with one in every ten cigarettes sold on the black market.

0:25:580:26:02

I never realised how big it was and, yeah, I have seen some fake cigarettes brands around.

0:26:020:26:08

Well, it's illegal and comes at a cost to us all.

0:26:080:26:12

500 billion.

0:26:180:26:20

Right. It's a huge figure.

0:26:200:26:23

Now find out how governments worldwide are tackling this.

0:26:230:26:26

It's the fight of the century.

0:26:290:26:32

On one side, the rich and powerful tobacco industry.

0:26:320:26:34

On the other, governments with power to make laws.

0:26:340:26:38

Once, tobacco companies had free rein to advertise,

0:26:380:26:41

spending billions each year on ads to tempt us. And it worked!

0:26:410:26:45

Up went sales and profits.

0:26:450:26:46

But in the last decades, there's been a government clampdown.

0:26:460:26:49

In Britain, we have banned all tobacco advertising,

0:26:490:26:53

outlawed tobacco sponsorship,

0:26:530:26:55

made health warnings on packs compulsory,

0:26:550:26:58

raised the legal age to buy cigarettes to 18,

0:26:580:27:00

and banned smoking in public places.

0:27:000:27:03

The government has fought hard and is winning.

0:27:030:27:06

Fewer people smoke, and cigarette sales are down.

0:27:060:27:10

It's not just the British government that's acted.

0:27:100:27:13

The European Union launched a campaign that kick-started control laws across Europe.

0:27:150:27:19

There's also a global push led by WHO,

0:27:210:27:23

which created a worldwide guide for tougher tobacco laws.

0:27:230:27:27

But in many poorer parts of the world, laws are still lax,

0:27:270:27:32

and cigarette companies are free to advertise and attract new smokers.

0:27:320:27:37

So smoking in these countries is on the rise, causing spiralling health problems

0:27:370:27:42

and an expensive habit for people already on the poverty line.

0:27:420:27:45

The thing is, tighter regulation isn't in every country's interests.

0:27:450:27:49

Some, like Malawi, depend on growing tobacco to make money.

0:27:490:27:54

Others don't want to lose out on high tax and aid gifts donated by rich tobacco companies.

0:27:540:28:00

The figures for smoking are scary.

0:28:000:28:03

There are 1.3 billion smokers worldwide,

0:28:030:28:06

and tobacco kills one in ten adults globally.

0:28:060:28:10

And the cost to the world economy?

0:28:100:28:12

500 billion each year.

0:28:120:28:14

Yet tobacco companies continue to reap huge profits.

0:28:140:28:18

But just how far should governments go in regulating things that are bad for us?

0:28:180:28:22

Or should it be personal choice?

0:28:220:28:25

It's the same dilemma with alcohol and even fast food.

0:28:250:28:28

It's a never-ending tussle between industry, government and us.

0:28:280:28:32

So, Jack, should there be tougher regulations against smoking worldwide?

0:28:340:28:38

I do think it's a personal choice, but I disagree with more poorer countries

0:28:380:28:43

that can't even afford food and yet they're spending money on cigarettes.

0:28:430:28:48

So will you now quit this nasty habit?

0:28:480:28:51

It's difficult. I'll think about it.

0:28:510:28:53

Thanks, Jack! You're released.

0:28:530:28:55

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:28:590:29:02

E-mail [email protected]

0:29:020:29:05

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