Bangkok Pollution - Unless you've been to Bangkok, you can't imagine how bad the pollution is. Thais, who have lived here their whole lives, think this level of pollution is normal and seem surprised when they go to a European or American city to find most of the rest of the world doesn't live like this. From morning till night, unregulated factories, buses that have not been serviced correctly, and Bangkok's millions of cars spew out cancer-causing pollution. The pollution is in the air in Bangkok every day. You can smell it when you go outside and, if you spend too long outside and aren't used to it, you'll end up with breathing problems. In fact, Bangkok's famous tuk-tuk drivers have some of the highest cancer rates in the world - and that's from spending every day sitting on pollution-choked streets.