Tobacco: the "invisible" threat to the environment

by Martina Antinozzi

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Tobacco: the "invisible" threat to the environment
Interuniversity project by:
Martedì 31 Maggio 2022
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases - Sapienza University of Rome
- Department of Health Sciences - University of Genoa
- Hygiene Unit, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences - University of Bologna
World No Tobacco Day 2022
A global issue
by Dr. Martina Antinozzi and Maria Assunta Donato

Welcome dear readers,
this little newspaper talks about tobacco and how it is a daily threat to our planet and to all creatures, of every species, that populate it.
The occasion for the dissemination of this booklet is the World No Tobacco Day 2022, whose theme this year, chosen by the World Health Organization, is "Tobacco as a threat to the environment". The issue of smoking, with the request to countries for a 30% reduction by 2030, is also included among the 170 goals to be achieved according to the Sustainable Development Agenda (program of 17 objectives, signed and launched in 2016 by the Organization of the United Nations, which acts as a global reference framework for the national and international commitment aimed at finding common solutions to the great challenges of the planet, to lead the world on the path of sustainability).
To talk about such a vast topic, it seems appropriate first of all to introduce a concept that underlies the rediscovered interest of the entire scientific world for the environment, namely the concept of One Health. This term refers to a health model based on the integration of different disciplines. This is based on the recognition that human health, animal health and the health of the entire ecosystem are inextricably linked.
One Health is officially recognized by the Ministry of Health and the WHO as a relevant strategy in all sectors that benefit from collaboration between different disciplines (doctors, veterinarians, environmentalists, economists, sociologists, etc.).
Considering the entire planet and all the species that inhabit it as a single indissoluble entity, makes us actively responsible for our choices in terms of global repercussions, not only on human life, but on the well-being of the Earth in the round.
Hence the need to increase awareness about the negative impact that tobacco and all the products deriving from it have on us and everything around us, in the hope that this small collection of texts can stimulate reflections on the topic and the development of more incisive policies in this area, so as to lead to a reflection that is only the starting point for a change in human behavior with a view to greater respect for ourselves, for all the species that inhabit this planet and for the Earth that kindly hosts us.
Poster by WHO for World No Tobacco Day 2022
by Dr. Martina Antinozzi and Maria Assunta Donato

The World Health Organization estimates that every year, worldwide, more than 8 million people die from tobacco consumption. While, on the one hand, the deleterious effects of cigarette smoking on human health are well known, the consequences that tobacco products have on the environment are still poorly understood and have only recently been arousing interest in the general population, also thanks to the work of raising awareness of NGOs and environmentalists.
Just think of waste products such as cigarette butts: every year 5,000 billion cigarette butts are scattered around the world, containing more than 7,000 toxic chemicals.
Chemicals are not only harmful to the smoker, but also have repercussions on the health of other people, on animal, plant and environmental health, therefore for all forms of life that populate our planet.
What does a cigarette contain?
Bibliography
Tobacco’s Impact on the Environment FACT SHEET https://tobaccofree.ku.edu/
Tobacco & Flora Threat
Editorial: The environmental effects of tobacco production
by Dr. Nicola Calcavecchia, Dr. Giulia Gatti and Dr. Raffella Sibilio

The tobacco supply chain has an important impact on terrestrial ecosystems. In fact, the cultivation of tobacco takes place on a massive scale on our planet, involving 125 countries (out of the 195 recognized globally, ie about 64%) and occupying 4.3 million hectares of agricultural land (1). Scientific evidence shows that tobacco is much more aggressive in its impact on the ecosystem of forests than crops such as corn or grazing (2).
In recent decades, in order to lower production costs, tobacco multinationals have shifted the cultivation of this plant from high-income to low-income countries, where about 90% of global production is now concentrated (3). China, Brazil and India are the largest tobacco producers in the world (4).

Use of chemicals

Tobacco is often grown intensively, without rotation with other plantations, and this exposes the tobacco plants themselves to diseases and pests, and impoverishes the quality of the land (5). Tobacco plants also absorb more nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium than other species, further reducing soil fertility in a very short time (6). For these reasons, the cultivation of tobacco requires the frequent identification of new fertile areas, and the use of large quantities of chemical agents (insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides) and growth regulators (6-8). Many of these substances, capable of also polluting groundwater, are so harmful both to the environment and to the health of farmers that they are now banned in many countries.
Studies show that pesticides banned in Europe are still used in Cuba (9), Kenya (10) and Pakistan (11).
Consumer concerns about the use of these chemicals have prompted some tobacco companies to prepare plans for the development of sustainable crops, but little has been done on the use of pesticides and fertilizers (12-14).
From internal documents of some tobacco companies it is clear that they have continued to fight to maintain the right to use some pesticides, even trying to influence regulatory processes in some countries (15).
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Big Tobacco's hands on deforestation
Photo credits: https://zapping2017.myblog.it/2017/11/15/multinazionali-ecco/
Deforestation

Another consequence of the intensive cultivation of tobacco is the deforestation to the detriment of very large areas which causes an increase in CO2 emissions and thus contributes to climate change (16). Furthermore, this destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats leads to a significant loss of biodiversity (17-19). Moreover, the intensive exploitation of the soil causes erosion, reduction of fertility and productivity, finally having repercussions also on the water cycle.
Besides the cultivation, the tobacco drying process is also a direct cause of deforestation (20), in fact, about 11.4 tons of wood are burned annually for this purpose (21). Added to this is the consumption of wood related to the production of other material related to the use of tobacco (e.g. maps, packaging).
The scale of the problem is such that up to 4% of global deforestation appears to be attributable to tobacco cultivation, with even higher percentages in countries such as China (around 18%), Zimbabwe (around 20%), Malawi (around 20%). 26%) and Bangladesh (about 30%) (22). (continues)
Tobacco & Flora Threat
Editorial: The environmental effects of tobacco production
by Dr. Nicola Calcavecchia, Dr. Giulia Gatti and Dr. Raffella Sibilio


In the first half of the 2000s, in the Urambo district, Tanzania's largest tobacco growing area, annual forest loss rates were 10 times higher than Africa's total deforestation rate, as a result of '' extension of the area of cultivation and extraction of wood for drying (23-25). In the eastern regions of Tanzania, between 1908 and 2000 intensive plantations, including tobacco, displaced 74% of the forest area (26).
In Brazil, the cultivation of tobacco in the southern areas has substantially contributed to the reduction of the surface of the forests to less than 2% of their original extension (27).
From the mid-1990s to today, more than half of the 120 tobacco producing countries (low and middle income) have suffered the loss of approximately 211,000 hectares of woodland per year (28). Although the phenomenon is widely known for its dramatic effects on ecosystems, the production trend is in any case constantly increasing (29), so that the consequences would now seem irreversible.

Greenhouse gas emissions

The processes of deforestation and cultivation lead to greenhouse gas emissions, a further mechanism of damage to the ecosystem (30). In fact, measures to prevent deforestation, such as the use of coal instead of wood in drying processes, are ineffective in limiting greenhouse gas emissions, as observed in Zimbabwe and China (31). It is estimated that the entire tobacco production cycle is the cause of the release into the atmosphere of about 84 million tons of CO2 equiv. in one year, equal to 0.2% of the global total (32).

Water consumption and pollution of groundwater

Tobacco production leads to enormous water consumption. In fact, it is estimated that over 22 billion tons of water are needed to sustain global annual production. For processing and manufacturing processes alone, 60 megatons of fresh water are consumed, resulting in 55 megatons of wastewater (33-35).
The impact on the pollution of aquifers and water courses is very important and is determined by the fertilizers and pesticides used during cultivation (which permeate the soil) (36), by toxic substances contaminating the waste water of manufacturing (nicotine, heavy metals, etc.) (37) and from cigarette butts that contain plastic and up to 7000 different toxic substances (38)
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Conclusions

Growing concerns about the environmental impact of these crops have led manufacturers to publish reports and advertise programs that address these problems (39-41). From the analysis of these initiatives, however, it appears that these programs have the sole intent of reducing public pressure on this issue and obtaining greater credibility with political decision makers (41).
In fact, despite technological advances, the increase in legislative restrictions and reforestation initiatives of native plants, the effects of tobacco production are currently unresolved overall (41-47).
In conclusion, the economic benefits for farmers and local communities deriving from these productions are decidedly lower than the environmental and economic repercussions associated with the loss of precious resources such as forests, plants and animal species. Furthermore, also considering the impact that the use of chemicals has on the health of farmers, especially where they do not have the necessary personal protective equipment (48), it is clear that the production model adopted so far is not sustainable.
Bibliography of the editorial
Editorial: The environmental effects of tobacco production

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