According to the World Health Organization's first report, "Tobacco and its environmental impact, an overview," the impact of this product on nature is illustrated by the following:
Tobacco waste contains more than 7,000 toxic chemicals that poison the environment, including cancer-causing substances.
Tobacco smoke emissions contribute to polluting the environment with thousands of tons of human carcinogenic substances, toxic substances and greenhouse gases. Tobacco wastes are also the largest in the world.
In the environment, up to 10 billion cigarettes out of the total of $ 15 billion sold per day are being disposed of.
Cigarette butts account for 30-40% of the total amount collected in cleaning operations in coastal and urban areas.
Tobacco is threatening all people, as well as national and regional development, in several ways:
Poverty: Approximately 860 million adult smokers live in low- and middle-income countries. Many studies have shown that spending on tobacco products, in the poorest households, often accounts for more than 10 percent of total household spending, which means cutting spending on food, education and health care.
Children and education: Tobacco cultivation is preventing children from attending school, with 10-14% of the children of tobacco-growing households dropping out of school due to work in their fields.
Women: 60-70% of tobacco plant workers are women, making them directly in contact with chemicals that are often dangerous.
Health: Tobacco contributes 16% of deaths from noncommunicable diseases.
"Many governments are taking tobacco control measures, from banning advertising and marketing to creating the idea of simple packaging of tobacco products, and preventing smoking in the workplace and public places," says Dr. Oleg Chestenov, assistant director-general of the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at WHO.
The increase in tobacco taxes and prices was the least effective, though most effective, measure that would help countries meet the needs of development.
