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 The United Nations agency called for the tobacco industry to
compensate for its products that contribute to greenhouse gases
blamed for climate change, but gave no estimate of damage.
The ecological footprint goes far beyond the effects of cigarette
smoke, the WHO said in its first report on tobacco's impact on the
environment. "From start to finish, the tobacco life cycle is an
overwhelmingly polluting and damaging process."
"Tobacco growing, the manufacture of tobacco products and their
delivery to retailers all have severe environmental consequences,
including deforestation, the use of fossil fuels and the dumping or
leaking of waste products into the natural environment," Oleg
Chestnov, WHO Assistant Director-General, said in the report to mark
World No Tobacco Day on Wednesday.
Tobacco use kills 7 million people a year, according to WHO.
It clinched a landmark treaty in 2005, now ratified by 179
countries, that calls for a ban on tobacco advertising and
sponsorship, and taxes to discourage use.
Tobacco plants require large quantities of insecticides, herbicides,
fungicides and fumigants to control pest or disease outbreaks.
"Many of these chemicals are so harmful to both the environment and
farmers’ health that they are banned in some countries," the report
said.
Vast quantities of wood are burned to cure tobacco leaves,
contributing to deforestation. Some big growers like China and
Zimbabwe are also using coal, which emits carbon dioxide, the main
greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, the WHO said.
Millions of kilograms of non-biodegradable cigarette butts are
discarded every year, it said.
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Tobacco waste contains over 7,000 toxic chemicals that poison the
environment, including human carcinogens, it added.
Japan Tobacco Inc, Philip Morris International and British American
Tobacco report on their use of environmental resources and waste
streams, but the self-reported data is "limited and opaque", the
report noted.
It also criticized the China National Tobacco Company, which
produces roughly 44 percent of cigarettes consumed globally, for not
publishing comprehensive environmental data.
The WHO said it should be mandatory for tobacco companies to supply
information on environmental damage.
"All producers should be required to compensate for the
environmental harms caused by deforestation, water use, waste, etc.
through offsets in order to ultimately reduce the long-term
ecological harm their business causes," it said.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Andrew Bolton)
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