environmental studies

Tobacco & The Environment

Why we chose this topic…

What smokers are saying…

"They just biodegrade.." "They're so small…" "Everyone does it…" "I have no other place to put it…" "The city pays people to clean them

up…"

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Ground & WaterPollution / Destruction

Air Pollution

Production & Manufacturing



Air Pollution

*Fact:There are 4000 chemicals contained in

cigarette smoke being expelled into our

environment.










are needed to see this picture.Ammonia

Arsenic

CO2

DDT

Acetone



Tar



Formaldehyde

“Cigarettes more polluting than a diesel car exhaust”…?

The Italian Car Study 2002 Ford Mondeo turbo diesel with a two-litre

engineThe car was left idling in a closed garage for 30

minutes while a portable analyzer took particulate air samples every 2 minutes. The garage was then aired for 4 hours, after which the doors were re-closed and 3 filter cigarettes were burned sequentially over a total of 30 minutes.

Result

Cigarettes emit 10x more particulate matter than a diesel car exhaust. QuickTime™ and a

decompressorare needed to see this picture.

Ground & Water Pollution

Water Pollution

1 cigarette end can pollute 40 liters of drinking water

An estimated 1.7 Billion pounds of cigarette butts gum up the world’s water ways a year.

Water Pollution

Filters are harmful to waterways and wildlife.

About 18% of litter, traveling primarily through storm water systems, ends up in local streams, rivers, and waterways.

Cigarette butt litter can pose a hazard to animals and marine life when they mistake filters for food.







2008 International Coastal Cleanup Report: The Ocean Conservancy

Soil & Plant Pollution

*Cigarettes take 25-26 years to

decompose.Cigarette filters may look like cotton, but

are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that is slow to degrade in the environment.

Contained in 98% of filters.Filters are specifically designed to

accumulate particulate smoke components including toxic chemicals.QuickTime™ and a


Cigarettes & FIRE During dry seasons, cigarette butts cause 25% of major

fires. According to the American Burn Association, about

900 people in the United States die each year in fires

started by cigarettes, and about 2,500 are injured. In Australia, there is at least one forest fire caused by a

burning cigarette butt

$$$Estimated cost of nearly $7 billion in the United

States and $27.2 billion worldwide in 1998. (National Fire

Protection Association) QuickTime™ and a


http://preventcigarettelitter.org/

PreventCigaretteLitter.org

Cigarette Litter Prevention Program 1. Enforce Anti-Litter Laws 2. Encourage the use of portable ashtrays 3. Install trash receptacles 4. Change behavior through public education 5. Organize a task force



PreventCigaretteLitter.org

What is the economic impact?Residences and businesses “pick up the tab”Community quality of life suffersRecreation areas become less attractive

Production & Manufacturing

*Making cigarettes leads to deforestation, soil

erosion, flooding, the greenhouse effect, and global warming.

Toxics Release Inventory of chemicals by the tobacco manufacturing industry in the United States recorded for 2006 included (but weren’t limited to):

• Ammonia: (946,155 kg )• Hydrochloric acid: (407,371 kg)• Methyl ethyl ketone: (340,821 kg)• Nicotine and nicotine salts: (900,377 kg) • Sulphuric acid: (67,228 kg)• Toluene: (349,622 kg 3)

Deforestation Cigarettes use about 600 million trees a year. Just to produce 300 cigarettes one tree is being wasted. A cigarette manufacturing machine uses 4 miles of

paper every hour rolling and packaging cigarettes.

Why deforestation? To dry and cure tobacco leaves Paper for packaging and rolling Potassium absorption QuickTime™ and a


Deforestation

Natural Capital DegradationRunoff of eroded soil into aquatic

spaceAcceleration of FloodingPremature extinction of species

with specializedRegional climate change from

extensive clearing

*Setting aside the pollution generated from manufacturing cigarettes, just losing this many carbon-dioxide-absorbing trees leaves at least 22 million net tons of CO2 in the atmosphere, roughly equivalent to burning 2.8 billion gallons of gasoline.

Global Warming

Cigarette smoke contains carbon dioxide and methane.

Smoking worldwide releases about 2.6 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide in the air every year.

It also releases about 5.2 billion kilograms of methane

every year.



Fertilizers, Pesticides & Herbicides

Tobacco is a sensitive plant prone to many diseases. Requires up to 16 applications of pesticide during 1 three-month growing period.

Aldrin and Dieldrin, and DDT are among the chemicals used.

Methyl bromide, widely used as a fumigant in developing countries, contributes significantly to ozone depletion.



“Tobacco poison surrounds child workers” (Times Magazine)

Electric Cigarettes…??



Greensmoke.com

Works Cited http://smoking.ygoy.com/smoking-and-the-environment/ http://www.click4carbon.com/ECOInfo/tobacco.php http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/190/1/Tobaccos-envir

onmental-impact.html http://preventcigarettelitter.org http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/02/smoking_environ.p

hp http://laist.com/2009/05/20/one_way_we_fight_water_pollutio

n_ca.php http://www.aadac.com/87_447.asp http://oxygen.org.au/hardfacts/tobacco-and-the-environment http://old.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact22.html http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/how-cigar

ettes-affect-the-environment-1667368.html http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/ciglitterarticle.htm















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