Cigarettes and the Environment
Let’s consider a few things about cigarettes before we look at their overall environmental impact. First, around ten million cigarettes are sold around the world each and every minute of the day. This adds up to around fifteen billion in a single day. Of these fifteen billion cigarettes, less than half will be disposed of properly. This means that literally billions of “butts” are thrown on the ground. If the average cigarette is made of roughly four thousand various chemicals (fifty of which are proven carcinogens), and it takes around twenty-five years for a single butt to breakdown completely it is quite easy to see the threats posed by smoking on the environment.
This, however, is not where the horror story ends. Not only will trillions of cigarette remains sit and spoil the ground water and nearby plants across millions of acres, but the making of these toxic time bombs is also devastating to the planet as well. Consider the main ingredient in a cigarette – tobacco. Tobacco is known as a “heavy feeder” that requires ridiculous amounts of nitrogen-based fertilizer and tons of water to reach market maturity. The chemical fertilizers inevitability runoff into nearby streams or water supplies, where they offset the natural balance, and allow leafy plants to overwhelm their ecological systems. This is one reason that many ponds and lakes will experience stagnation due to an over accumulation of certain algae or flowers.
To harvest the tobacco means more pollution from the heavy equipment that spills carbon dioxide into the air. Additionally, the entire growth process fundamentally kills the soil, and studies have shown that the deforestation to make way for new farming is also having a negative environmental impact.
Next, the wood burning process that “cures” tobacco also causes environmental problems, and the use of tons of paper pulp to make wrappers and filters leads to even more destruction.
By this point it is easy to see that simply lighting up a cigarette and exhaling the carbon monoxide, tar and toxin in the smoke is only a small part of the pollution process connected to cigarettes.
Global health organization agrees that if the trends in smoking continue at their current rate, the year 2030 will see one in six people die from their smoking habit. They don’t, however, take into account the millions who will suffer from the environmental impact of the total industry and all of the resulting pollution. Anyone who is concerned about the health of the planet and future generations would be well-advised to end their smoking habits as soon as possible.
