Tabacco Harms Planet

(WHO)

New Delhi,31 may 2022,Today is No World Tobacco day. Tobacco use is a well-documented threat to global health, and in the area of tobacco control, extensive work has been done to communicate the health risks of tobacco use and to reduce the demand for tobacco through effective policy interventions. What has been less discussed or documented are the environmental health risks of tobacco cultivation, production, distribution, consumption and waste. The harmful impact of the tobacco industry on the environment is vast and growing, and has thus far received relatively little attention from researchers and policy-makers.

The environmental consequences of tobacco use move it from being a human problem to a planetary problem. It is not just about the lives of tobacco users and those around them, or even those involved in tobacco production. Tobacco can no longer be categorized simply as a health threat – it is a threat to human development as a whole

 

Tobacco harms our health directly through use and exposure to second-hand smoke and through its negative impact on the environment. Tobacco’s impact on the environment occurs at various stages, including growing and cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, use and disposal of tobacco products (1). Each of these stages has negative implications for the environment, including the use of precious resources such as water and trees and the creation of pollutants through manufacturing. Production and consumption of tobacco also contributes to global warming, releasing 80 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into the environment each year, the equivalent of driving 17 million gasoline-powered cars each year.

1 Tobacco’s long history of negative implications for health is well known, including the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancers and respiratory illnesses, but what is less often discussed is the harmful effects it has on the health of our planet. Long before these deadly products reach the consumer, they already leave a trail of destruction in their wake. Tobacco growing destroys forests, damages soil and depletes water supplies, while manufacturing contributes to the production of toxic waste. Tobacco use pollutes the air we breathe, while also leaving residual nicotine and other harmful chemicals on indoor surfaces, thereby exposing non-smokers to second-hand and third-hand smoke toxins. Cigarette butts and other forms of tobacco product waste poison rivers, oceans and marine life, contaminate beaches and waterways and foul our urban living spaces (2).

The environmental insult associated with tobacco production and use is a growing concern, complicated by newer electronic smoking devices and nicotine delivery products. These devices contain metals, plastics and batteries which are classified as toxic hazardous waste, whether they are littered into the environment or properly disposed of in a waste bin. Finally, tobacco production affects the air we breathe, even before the tobacco is smoked. The tobacco product life cycle produces a significant amount of CO 2 . Approximately 14 grams of CO 2 are emitted per cigarette over its whole life cycle (1). Tobacco control works but the adoption of effective tobacco control measures is often slowed down or impaired by policy- makers, who are still not fully aware of the environmental damage caused by tobacco growing, manufacture, distribution and post-consumer tobacco waste.

@ REPORT BY WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION.

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