Smoking and The Environment

Personally I hate the whole culture of smoking. I hate the smell of it and I hate what it does to people's health. There is, quite frankly, nothing at all good about smoking. I could never understand why anyone in their right mind would even consider taking up such a horrid habit. I also find it strange how there are people who claim to be environmental but then smoke. Don't they know the environmental effects that smoking has?

First of all there's the issue of the filter tip. Did you know that it's NOT biodegradeable? 4.5 trillion are discared every year around the globe. That's a heck of a lot of filters sitting around for 15 years or so.

Then there's the issue of deforestation. Tobacco is grown on land that used to be forested. Not only that, but tobacco is considered to be a "cash crop" meaning it's grown for money rather than for people to eat. The land that they grow the tobacco on become devoid of nutrients which means it's very difficult to grow anything else even if the farmer wanted to. In order to grow any other kinds of crops, fertilizer would need to be purchased. This fertilizer costs money which the farmer might not have. So they are trapped into producing tobacco.

Tobacco is also fairly difficult to grow without the use of really horrid chemicals which includes DDT and Aldrin. These chemicals can make the tobacco farmer worker very ill and they can also be washed out into the local water supply. As a result this makes the local people very ill and wildlife can be killed.

So I urge anyone who cares about their health and also the health of the environment, please give up smoking. There's no shortage of products to help you quit cigarettes. You just need to have the will power, determination and support.