Tobacco Products also Degrades Ecosystem Integrity: WHO Report

Tobacco is one of the most widely consumed commodities on the planet and its consumption continues to be a major contributor to the global disease burden, accounting for a whopping 12% of deaths among people under the age of 30 worldwide. Tobacco is carcinogenic and kills 8 million people worldwide each year, including 1.2 million nonsmokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke.

These tobacco products, however, do not only endanger our health; they also cause significant environmental damage and leave irreversible carbon footprints on our planet.

Cigarette butts and filters are among the most polluted substances on the planet. They account for 30 to 40% of all litter discovered during beach and city trash cleanups. Every year, an estimated 5.6 trillion cigarettes are smoked, with two-thirds of them discarded incorrectly.

“Tobacco products are the most littered item on the planet, containing over 7000 toxic chemicals, which leech into our environment when discarded. Roughly 4.5 trillion cigarette filters pollute our oceans, rivers, city sidewalks, parks, soil and beaches every year,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, Director of Health Promotion at the World Health Organisation (WHO).