Eight million people die every year because of smoking, but the industry is not only responsible for people's deaths, but it is having a more dangerous impact on our planet than we think. According to a foreign news agency, a new report released by the World Health Organization details the devastating effects of this deadly industry on the environment and public health.
According to the report, every year tobacco affects 600 million trees, more than 49 million acres of land, and 22 billion tons of water, while 84 million tons of carbon dioxide are released into the environment. This amount of carbon dioxide emissions are 20 percent of the amount of this dangerous gas emitted by the airline industry.
The World Health Organization said that most tobacco is grown in low- and middle-income countries where land and water are desperately needed to grow food crops. Instead, they grow these deadly tobacco plants and more. Forests are being cut down.
Release of 7000 toxic chemicals into the environment. The World Organization said that the growth of these crops is not the only problem. Rather, the large amount of waste produced by them is also a problem that remains and harms our environment.
Dr. Rödiger Kreich, a director appointed at the institution, said that tobacco products are the most harmful products in the world, containing 7000 thousand toxic chemicals that are released into the environment after becoming waste.
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Cigarette residue is the second largest cause of plastic pollution in the world. They contain microplastics that persist in the environment. Other products i.e. smokeless tobacco products and e-cigarettes also have the problem of spreading plastic pollution in the environment.
About 4500 billion cigarette filters are polluting our oceans, rivers, city sidewalks, parks, soil, and beaches every year, Dr. Creech said. Contaminates, On the other hand, the burden of cleaning up the pollution caused by tobacco products falls on taxpayers, not those who cause the problem. China spends more than two and a half billion dollars every year, while India spends about 765 million dollars for this purpose.