Smoking and the Environment

It is very widely known that smoking affects the smoker’s health adversely. It also affects the health of people around the smoker. But many people do not know that smoking affects the environment also. Smokers are the direct contributors to the environment pollution.

Smoking obviously causes air pollution due to the smoke released. Around 4000 chemicals are released into the atmosphere when the smoke is breathed out in the air. The percentage of smokers in developing countries is steadily increasing and this is ultimately increasing the pollution in the atmosphere.

Smoking not only causes pollution of the air and the body but also contributes to water and land pollution to some extent. The left over butts of the cigarettes on the ground are not a rare site. This trash ultimately reaches the lakes and rivers. Fishes and other sea animals end up consuming these trash which leads to their death. The remaining butts on the ground take around 25 to 26 years to decompose. The additives and chemicals present in the cigarette-remains leach into the soil, polluting the soil and enter the biological cycle by being absorbed by the plants. Careless disposal of the cigarette butts sometimes leads to fire leading to the damage of the environment and the property.

The production of cigarettes is also harmful to the environment. The land used for the cultivation of tobacco can be used for the production of other food grains necessary for the country. Tobacco plants are also highly susceptible to pests and diseases. Hence they require the use of various pesticides and chemicals to be sprayed on them. Packing of cigarettes also requires a lot of trees. Cigarette manufacturing units require 4 miles of paper in an hour for rolling and packing cigarettes.

Smoking affects the people and the environment around. Quit smoking cigarettes and stop destructing not only your health but also the environment around you.