IT WAS World Tobacco Day yesterday. This yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what the World Health Organization is doing to fight against the use of tobacco, and what people around the world can do to claim their right to health and healthy living and to protect future generations.
Smoking is an environmental crisis and a threat to Mother Earth. It is a common notion that smoking is just a health issue. However, we have to recognize the entirety of its impacts on health, environment, economic, social, and political spheres. It has environmental blows, and we hope to consistently include the issue in discoursing climate change and other ecological concerns.
Negative environmental consequences of smoking include land degradation, deforestation, production of toxic wastes, incorrect disposal of cigarette butts, and carbon emissions. Come to think of this – according to experts, if someone smokes one pack per day for 50 years, we will have 5.1 trillion carbon dioxide emissions. To offset or balance the released carbon dioxide, we have to plant or nurture 132 tree seedlings within 10 years.
We must also highlight the destructive impact of the tobacco supply chain – cultivation, curing, and manufacturing. These are detrimental to natural resources. In the curing stage, the direct burning of wood and coal accounts for more carbon emissions than all stages combined. In one year, this process produces 45 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions globally. This does not yet include the carbon dioxide that is released due to deforestation.
Let us also ponder on the adverse effects of the production and post-consumer waste issues of non-tobacco elements of cigarettes, including filters and packaging.
Yes, smoking is not just a health issue. It is an environmental concern as well, a threat to our planet.
