5 Reasons Tobacco is Bad for the Planet

How Big Tobacco contributes to deforestation, pollution, soil degradation, and more.

In the movement to protect the planet and create a sustainable future, counteracting the environmental impact of Big Tobacco is crucial. For decades, the tobacco industry has been damaging global ecosystems through the planting, harvesting, curing, production, and disposal of tobacco products. It’s not just harmful for our bodies -- it’s harmful to our planet. Here are five ways the tobacco industry negatively impacts the environment:

1) Growing commercial tobacco contributes to deforestation and desertification.

Tobacco is a very resource-demanding crop to grow. It requires a lot of water and nutrients, and when mismanaged, tobacco farming can lead to soil depletion and desertification -- which makes already scarce land no longer arable for growing necessary food crops. Tobacco farming is responsible for clearing thousands of hectares of woodlands -- an estimated 600 million trees -- to make space for tobacco farming every year, and the tobacco industry contributes to deforestation in low- and middle-income countries in particular. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that tobacco farming is responsible for 5% of the total loss of forests in low- and middle-income countries, and it’s the main cause of deforestation in countries such as Malawi, Zimbabwe and the Philippines.

2) Commercial tobacco production requires high energy use and produces tons of greenhouse gases.

Tobacco undergoes a process of curing, where it’s heated up to reduce moisture and preserve it before it’s prepared to be sold. Wood or coal are commonly used to power the furnaces that cure commercial tobacco, and it’s estimated that 8.05 million tonnes of wood is used for tobacco curing annually. Once cured, the processed tobacco goes on to be manufactured into tobacco products like cigarettes and cigars. Annually, tobacco curing releases 44.7 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, and tobacco manufacturing releases 15.7 million tonnes of CO2, contributing to the 84 million tonnes of CO2 produced by the tobacco industry each year. Big Tobacco’s carbon footprint is almost equivalent to the national carbon output of countries like Peru and Israel.

Plus, there’s still very limited information about how the tobacco industry manufactures e-cigarettes and what kind of environmental impact those products produce -- even though they’re working with hazardous chemicals and electrical waste.

3) Cigarette butts are one of the most littered objects in the world.

In 2019, nearly one million cigarette butts were collected from U.S. beaches and waterways, and 4.2 million were collected from beaches and waterways globally. The worst part is that cigarette butts typically don’t biodegrade because of the plastic used in their filters.

When they end up in oceans and rivers (usually via drains and sewer systems), littered cigarette butts break down and release nicotine and other residual chemicals into the water, causing harm to the ecosystem. One study found that a single cigarette butt, which soaked in a liter of water for 24 hours, released enough toxins to kill 50% of the fish exposed to it. Cigarette butts discarded on land can also leach chemicals into the soil or be consumed by wildlife.

4) The metals and chemicals in e-cigarettes can harm ecosystems.

E-cigarette-related waste is potentially an even more serious environmental threat than cigarette butts because they produce hazardous waste (chemicals from e-liquid residue), electronic waste (including lithium-ion batteries), and plastic waste. When e-cigarettes aren’t properly disposed of, the heavy metals and chemicals from discarded e-cigarettes can be released into the environment, potentially contaminating soil and groundwater and posing a threat to local plants and wildlife.

Some of the batteries and heating elements used in e-cigarettes can also become fire hazards inside of trash receptacles if they’re damaged or exposed to high heat.

5) E-cigarette waste fills landfills without proper disposal standards.

E-cigarette production encourages the use of single-use plastics, with disposable pods and vapes becoming more prevalent. Yet, tobacco companies are not accountable for providing consumers with guidance about how to properly dispose of their vape waste. There are no standardized guidelines for recycling e-cigarette waste, and electronic and hazardous waste management companies are not fully equipped to process the e-liquid and batteries found in vape waste.