By Seojin David Lee
I am sure you need no introduction to cigarette smoking; nearly 20% of people in the world were cigarette smokers in 2014. Cigarette smoking is extremely common. Here in South Korea, almost every single convenience store has them for sale. The fact that cigarette smoking is detrimental to one’s health is common knowledge. It has dozens of risks to human health and may cause diseases such as lung cancer, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and heart attack and stroke. Not only will it harm the smoker, but it also has the potential to harm people nearby. This is called second-hand smoke; as stated by Conserve Energy Future, “Those exposed to second-hand smoke are at high risk of suffering from most of the diseases and health complications associated with first-hand smoking.” However, there are further consequences caused by cigarette smoking, and these consequences are not exclusive to one’s health. Importantly, cigarette smoking is also dangerous to the environment.
The most direct way cigarettes are harming the environment is through their production. Because cigarettes are made from tobacco, which is only found in rainforests, trees in rainforests are being cut down. Deforestation is also the worst in rainforests, which may be correlated to cigarette production. As a huge portion of the world smoke cigarettes, there is gonna have to be a large number of trees in rainforests deforested to make up for these cigarettes. Deforestation is obviously destructive to the environment, as the absence of trees and plants may cause harmful effects such as soil erosion, less carbon dioxide being absorbed, and the decrease of biodiversity.
Another blatant way cigarettes are harming the environment is when they are being smoked. Cigarettes release carbon dioxide and methane into the air when smoked; this is something that should not be ignored, as it happens to be that carbon dioxide and methane are the two leading causes of climate change. In fact, cigarette smoking releases approximately 2.6 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide and 5.2 billion kilograms of methane annually. The effect on climate change by cigarettes is also amplified if you consider the production of it causing the deforestation of trees, as there will be fewer trees to absorb the carbon dioxide that will be emitted into the atmosphere.
Lastly, cigarettes harm the environment even after they are done being used by the smoker. Walking down the streets of Seoul, it is common to see hundreds of cigarette butts scattered across the side of roads. It turns out that these cigarettes littered onto the floor are commonly washed into waterways and end up in bodies of water. According to the Ocean Conservancy, cigarette butts are the most common form of waste found in the ocean. In fact, “the International Coastal Cleanup program managed to clear about 3.2 million cigarette butts from waterways and beaches” in 2008. Waste in the ocean is detrimental to the marine environment, as marine animals will be harmed in various ways and the ocean water will be contaminated.
In conclusion, cigarette smoking is not only harmful to the smoker and people nearby but is also harmful to the environment. The production of cigarettes, the use of cigarettes, and the disposal of cigarettes are all contributing causes to climate change, deforestation, and marine pollution. Although it is up to the individual’s decision whether or not he or she would like to smoke a cigarette, I strongly urge everyone to stay away from the act as not only will it damage your health, it will also cause grave repercussions to the environment.
Sources:
1:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_cigarette_consumption_per_capita#:~:text=Cigarettes%20are%20smoked%20by%20over,tobacco%20consumption%20continues%20to%20rise.
2: https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/serious-effects-cigarette-smoking-environment-and-human-health.php#:~:text=Cigarette%20smoking%20causes%20environmental%20pollution,soil%20and%20water%20pollution%2C%20respectively.
