From Leaf to Loss: Tobacco’s Role in Global Deforestation

Every year, May 31st is observed as World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) globally, marking a day when the world comes together to raise awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco. The theme for the 2025 WTND was Unmasking the appeal: Exposing industry tactics on tobacco and nicotine products. This theme aims to reveal the strategies applied and used by the tobacco and nicotine giants to make their products more tempting, especially to young people who can become addicted to these products.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), by exposing the tactics of the tobacco industry, aims to increase awareness, urging governments to build stronger policies, including banning flavoured tobacco and nicotine, which make these products more appealing.

How does the tobacco and nicotine industry make its product more attractive?

A study by Winnall in 2023 showed that to make tobacco and nicotine products more desirable, modifying the flavors, smell, and appearance of the smoke can be effective. It can also be done by reducing the harshness (irritation caused in the mouth and throat) and by improving the design and feel of the product.

While the industry masks the health and lifestyle risks, the environmental damage caused by these tobacco giants is immense, including large-scale solid waste, which is highly chemical and nondegradable. Large amounts of cigarette butts which are found on beaches and oceans which cause soil degradation, and harm aquatic life. The growing of tobacco leaves and plants requires huge acres of land; hence, large-scale deforestation is conducted to convert them to farmland to grow tobacco crops. (World No Tobacco Day 2023: Grow Food, Not Tobacco, 2023)

This article aims to help understand how tobacco consumption and production harm forests and ecosystems.

The Hidden Environmental Toll

According to the report World No Tobacco Day 2023: Grow Food, Not Tobacco, 2023, almost 3.5 million hectares of land globally were converted into growing tobacco each year. Tobacco crop is a highly resource-intensive crop; it requires heavy use of fertilizers, water, and pesticides, which also contribute to causing soil erosion. The land that is used for growing tobacco loses its capacity to grow other crops, such as food crops, for example, rice, maize crops this because tobacco crops reduce soil fertility. Studies have also shown that tobacco crops deplete soil nutrients by taking more nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium than other crops.

According to Warner (2024), the side effects of growing tobacco groups are significant on the environment. According to Novotny et al., 2015, in 1995 alone, it was estimated that tobacco production alone produced anywhere between 3,00,000 tons of nondegradable nicotine waste and 2,00,000 tons of chemical waste. As of today, the output has increased from 5 to 6.5 trillion cigarettes annually. Today, the tobacco industry produces almost 4,50,00,000 tons of solid waste, 60,00,000 tons of nicotine waste, and 40,00,000 tons of chemical waste.

Research has shown that an estimate of 7,66,571 metric tons of cigarette butts make their way into the environment, 6.92 kilotons of consumer electronic waste including e-cigarettes and this is number going to increase to a staggering 74.7 metric tons by the year 2030. Totally around the globe an estimate of about 11,34,292 cigarettes butts cleaned in the beaches, rivers and lakes in 2021. However all cigarettes butts are not collected. In 2020, “The Keep America Beautiful” survey estimated that the actual number of cigarettes butts present in roadways, oceans combined is around 9.7 billion cigarettes butts and around 392 million pieces of other tobacco related products, this almost constitutes to about 20% of all US litter.

Tobacco Industry’s Effect on Deforestation

A report by the WHO (2022) has shown that growing tobacco highly contributes to deforestation, especially in developing countries, but why?

Research by Novotny et al., 2015, has shown that the land which is used for farming in low and middle-income countries may be converted into tobacco fields as farmers are given the incentives that it is a cash crop and will earn good profits. The big giants like ITC, Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, and many more use intensive lobbying and investments have influenced the growth of the tobacco market in low and middle-income countries. Many of these countries have very limited legislative and economic capabilities to resist international tobacco companies' influence and investment. In many of these countries, the land available for tobacco is cheaper, cheap labour is available, and the land is also very fertile. One key factor is that many of these international companies provide large-scale employment, which helps the farmers and the people of the country. Though the growth of the tobacco industry will help economically only in the short run but in the long run, there will be social, economic, health, and environmental effects on many others.

Tobacco farming is a direct cause of deforestation, as farmers have cleared forests to create additional land for the cultivation of tobacco plants. Research shows that tobacco-related deforestation accounts for almost half of the total annual loss of forests. A prime example of this is the tobacco forests of Africa. Almost 90% of the tobacco agriculture occurs in the Miombo ecosystems, which contain parts of Tanzania, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. In Tanzania alone, every year, almost 11,000 hectares of forest land are cut down to be converted to produce tobacco, which is almost the size of 15,000 football fields.

Research has shown that deforestation for tobacco plantations promotes soil erosion and degradation. Tobacco farming is responsible for 5% of all global deforestation. Tobacco farmers mostly clear the land by burning it. The sad part is that due to the resource-intensive nature of tobacco crops, the land becomes completely depleted of its resources within a few seasons, and the farmers abandon these lands, contributing to the issue of deforestation as they become wastelands, as they cannot be used for any other purposes. Burning the land also increases greenhouse gas levels, contributing to air and water pollution. The tobacco industry produces approximately 84 million metric tons of CO2 annually.

The production and manufacturing of tobacco alone is equivalent to driving 17 million gas-powered cars each year, which is quite a huge amount. Tobacco production alone uses more water and wood and has the highest concentration of pesticides applied. The tobacco industry/ farmers cut almost 600 million trees every year for production and also for the packaging of cigarette boxes.

Solutions

Tobacco companies/ organisations should be held accountable for the litter they produce. The state government should keep a close watch on these companies and make sure they do not produce a large amount of waste. If waste is produced above the allowed limit huge sum of penalties and fines should be given to these organizations. If still continue to litter above the allowed limit, these companies should be taken to court or asked to close down their factory.

Banning of tobacco is a possible solution, as banning of tobacco can help in completely stopping the production of tobacco crops, which can help in reducing the cutting down of forests and large acres of land for cultivation. Although these can backfire as the tobacco industry is a big industry in the agriculture industry, as well as a major source of income for the government. It also plays an important role as it contributes to the Indian economy. If we ban tobacco, it can cause a fall in the economy.

Strengthening of certain policies like the Environment Protection Act, Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), the EPA, which also has the tobacco industry within it. The Environmental Protection Act controls the production, trade, distribution, and environmental damage, but these policies need to be strengthened to ensure continuous observation of them and ensure that they follow these laws. The policies and the departments under the act should be given more power, more manpower, and additional financial resources to keep a close eye on the industry to make sure they follow. The COTPA does not cover the environment but mainly focuses on the legislative aspect, like banning of tobacco advertisements, the harmful effects of tobacco, but does not cover the environmental damages. The Policy should be expanded to include environmental damages and also high-level punishment for violating them.

Farmers who are working in the tobacco industry face a high level of risks to their health and environmental damage. The farmers working in the tobacco industry are exposed to nicotine poisoning, green tobacco sickness, skin diseases, and even cancer. To protect the health of the farmers government should give incentives and help the farmers move to grow other crops like rice, maize, or the crop of their choice. Which will help them protect themself and the lands and preserve its nutrients and fertility.

References

1. Winnall, WR. 12.6.3 Additives that increase the attractiveness of tobacco products. In Greenhalgh, EM, Scollo, MM and Winstanley, MH [editors]. Tobacco in Australia: Facts and issues. Melbourne : Cancer Council Victoria; 2023. Available from https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-12-tobacco-products/12-6-additives-and-flavourings-in-tobacco-products/12-6-3-additives-that-increase-the-attractiveness-of-tobacco-products

2. Novotny, T. E., Bialous, S. A., Burt, L., Curtis, C., Da Costa, V. L., Iqtidar, S. U., Liu, Y., Pujari, S., & D’Espaignet, E. T. (2015). The environmental and health impacts of tobacco agriculture, cigarette manufacture and consumption. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 93(12), 877–880. https://doi.org/10.2471/blt.15.152744

3. World No Tobacco Day 2023: Grow food, not tobacco. (2023, May 31). https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/events/item/2023/05/31/default-calendar/world-no-tobacco-day-2023--we-need-food--not-tobacco

4. Warner, B. (2024a, September 6). Healthy Farming, Healthy Planet: The Environmental Case Against Tobacco Farming – Development Gateway: An IREX Venture – Data and digital solutions for international development. Development Gateway: An IREX Venture. https://developmentgateway.org/blog/healthy-farming-healthy-planet-the-environmental-case-against-tobacco-farming/#:~:text=Tobacco%20farming%20is%20a%20direct,loss%20of%20forests%20and%20woodlands

5. World Health Organization. (2022). TOBACCO AND THE ENVIRONMENT. In April 2023. https://truthinitiative.org/sites/default/files/media/files/2023/10/Truth_Environment%20FactSheet%20Update%202023_101623.pdf

6. World Health Organization. (2022b). TOBACCO AND THE ENVIRONMENT. In April 2023. https://truthinitiative.org/sites/default/files/media/files/2023/10/Truth_Environment%20FactSheet%20Update%202023_101623.pdf