Opium has become a major problem in China. The total number of addicts in China is estimated to 12 million. The trade deficit Western countries had with China has quickly turned into a trade surplus. China can't export enough tea and silk to balance the trade. Instead the difference in trade is made up by the export of Chinese silver, which is highly valued for its fine qualities. In 1839, the Chinese opium smokers spent 100 million taels, while the government's entire annual revenue was only 40 million taels. The drain of silver greatly weakened the Chinese government. One government official wrote, "If we continue to allow this trade to flourish, in a few dozen years, we will find ourselves not only with no soldiers to resist the enemy, but also with no money to equip the army."

Since 1839, the Chinese government has imposed extremely severe punishments, including death, for smoking and trading opium. Special Commissioner Lin Ze-xu, the so-called 'Drug Czar', was sent to Canton to ensure the rules were carried out. Lin, while in Canton, made 1,600 arrests and confiscated 11,000 pounds of opium in two months. In June 1839, Lin forced foreign merchants (mainly British citizens) to hand over 20,000 chests of opium. He burned the opium in a public demonstration and scattered the ashes across the sea.

The final stroke came when Lin gave the order to close Canton to foreign trade.
In response, Great Britain has been sending gunboats and is now attacking several Chinese coastal cities to force China into submission.
Despite the Chinese government's desperate attempts to withstand the assault, a British victory now seems ineluctable.