The World Health Organization (WHO) has released fresh information detailing the extent of the damage caused by tobacco to both the environment and human health.
Every year the tobacco industry costs the world more than 8 million lives, 600 million trees, 200,000 hectares of land, and 22 billion tonnes of water.
The WHO report notes that the industry’s carbon footprint from production, processing, and transporting tobacco is equivalent to one-fifth of the CO2 produced by the commercial airline industry each year further contributing to global warming.
Products like cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and e-cigarettes also add to the build-up of plastic pollution.
Countries like France and Spain and cities like San Francisco, California in the USA have held the tobacco industry responsible for clearing up the pollution it creates.
WHO now urges countries and cities to follow this example, as well as give support to tobacco farmers to switch to other sustainable crops.1pm
