Smoking, Or The Environment?

Are you a smoker or know anyone who is? Well, I have some news for you. According to, “How Smoking Affects the Environment?” a smoker is not only affecting the health of a second hand smoker but the environment too. Almost 4,000 chemicals are found in cigarettes and thirty percent of Americans are smokers, and the percentage of smokers in developing countries is much higher ("How Smoking…”).

When people smoke we all notice the smoke. This clearly implies that the air is being polluted, but what about the water and land? Everyday millions of cigarette butts are left on the ground, which are eventually washed away in lakes, rivers, and sewers ("How Smoking...”). When these butts unfortunately go into the water fish tend to eat them and die. The lingering butts left on the ground later take 24 to 26 years to decompose (“How Smoking…”). While the butts are decomposing, the 4,000 chemicals in the butts seep into the soil poisoning the soil and plants. This sounds very bad and it is true, for I have personally seen it in parks.

However, the major pollutant is production of cigarettes (“How Smoking…”). When tobacco is grown, taking care of them is the number-one priority, for pests and diseases are always present. To maintain these plants many chemicals are used to keep them healthy and undamaged. Sadly, the land, air, and water around the tobacco fields get contaminated by the chemicals resulting in the surrounding environment being destroyed.

Growing tobacco is half the problem because making the cigarettes are causing trees to be cut down. On average, one tree is cut for every 300 cigarettes, not including the paper packaging (“Tobacco Facts…”). Also in Brazil, where 100,000 tobacco farmers exist, 60 million trees are razed a year (“Tobacco Facts...”). Do you think it is fair to sacrifice trees for the production of cigarettes? 

Works Cited

"How Smoking Affects the Environment." Smoking Site Wide Activity RSS. Yogoy Health Community, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. <http://smoking.ygoy.com/smoking-and-the-environment/>.

"Tobacco Facts and The Environment." Tobacco Facts and the Environment. City of Berkeley Public Health Division, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. <http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Health_Human_Services/Public_Health/Tobacco_Facts_and_the_Environment.aspx>.