World No Tobacco Day 2022: Know how tobacco not only harms your health but also the environment

‘Smoking is injurious to health and causes cancer'. You must have seen this warning on television or in cinema halls at the beginning of a film, but in spite of this, people continue to smoke. Tobacco not only harms the health of human beings but also causes extreme damage to the environment. The production and distribution of tobacco causes long term damage to the environment.

Keeping the goal of environmental protection in mind, the theme for World No Tobacco Day 2022 is ‘Protect the Environment'. According to WHO, the harmful impact of the tobacco industry on the environment is vast and adds unnecessary pressure to our planet's already scarce resources and fragile ecosystems.

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Every year, 35 lakh hectares of land is cleared for growing tobacco. Approximately 84 megatonnes of carbon dioxide is generated by the tobacco industry. Around 90 per cent of tobacco is grown in developing countries. Tobacco is seen as a cash crop in low- and middle-income countries and also as a way of developing the economy of the country.

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According to WHO, a decreased use of tobacco can prove beneficial in achieving sustainable development goals.