The True Cost of Big Tobacco's Deadly Deception

The Tobacco industry hides the truth—beyond addiction, their products claim lives, destroy forests, and poison oceans. They profit while our planet suffers, until we stand for nothing but change.

8 million lives and 600 million trees…

That’s only a fraction of the toll the tobacco industry exacts on us and our planet every year. Yet behind the seductive allure of cigarettes lies a trail of destruction—an industry that profits from our demise while leaving ash, plastic and death in its wake. But hey, smoking is cool, right?

The Carbon Credits site reported that "Each year, the tobacco industry takes more than 8 million human lives, cuts 600 million trees, 200,000 hectares of land, 22 billion tonnes of water, and emits 84 million tonnes of CO2." (1) This is the cost of a product that promises momentary pleasure but delivers lasting harm—to our bodies, our planet, and our future.

But the damage doesn’t stop there. Cigarette filters, as of 2022, are the top plastic pollutants in our oceans (2). I’m sure you’ve been a witness to the cigarette butts hiding in the sand at the beach, right? I know that no matter which beach or which ocean i’m at, I almost always am crossing paths with these filters buried or floating around. And these toxic remnants are more than just an annoying eyesore; they are a persistent environmental hazard that leaches toxins into our environment.

The major players in this game, often referred to as ‘Big Tobacco,’ include Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, and Japan Tobacco International. These companies, similar to those in the fossil fuel industry, are experts at driving ill-health and premature death, as highlighted in a 2024 WHO report on the Commercial Determinants of Noncommunicable Diseases. The report states that they employ misleading marketing tactics and interfere in government efforts to prevent killer diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. (3)

The truth is, we’re being duped—coerced into harming ourselves and our planet for the sake of short-term gains and profits for a small, powerful few. Maria Zafeiridou’s study at the Center of Environmental Policy in London reveals the full scope of the environmental impact: "The environmental impacts range from the use of scarce arable land and water for tobacco cultivation, use of harmful chemicals on tobacco farms, deforestation, and carbon emissions from manufacture and distribution processes, to the production of toxic waste and nonbiodegradable litter. Furthermore, incorrect disposal of cigarette butts has been linked to numerous domestic and wildland fires with devastating results" (4).

Moreover, The Department for Health at the University of Bath reports that “Cigarette filters are an environmental hazard and are among the 10 most common plastics in the world’s oceans. Every year, an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette filters are deposited into the environment.” She explains that these discarded filters, commonly made of cellulose acetate, lose only 38% of their mass after two years of decomposition and leach toxic substances into the environment (5).

So, how do we confront this unsettling reality? The truth is, change really won't come easy. But we’re not powerless. The first step is simple yet profound: stop buying cigarettes. Every purchase is a vote for the destruction we’ve outlined (it also signals to those around us that we condone the activities of the industry.) Secondly, use your voice—share what you’ve learned. Conversations spark awareness, and awareness is huge part of the ripple affect that leads to action. Lastly, let those in power know where you stand. Write to your local leaders, governments, and these corporations. Tell them you're disgusted, worried, and ready for change. Your words, combined with the collective outcry of others, can turn the tide against an industry that thrives on our silence and complicity. Outside of voicing your stand on this, there’s unfortunately not else we can do, at least that I am aware of.

The tobacco industry has mastered the art of deception, selling us a product that ravages us and our planet. By disguising death and destruction as a symbol of rebellion and sophistication, Big Tobacco has entrenched itself in our culture—at the expense of our health and the environment. The real cost of a cigarette is far greater than what we pay at the counter; it’s a price paid in lives lost, ecosystems destroyed, and a future compromised.

1 - https://carboncredits.com/big-tobacco-carbon-footprint-poisoning-the-planet-and-the-people-says-who/
2 - https://www.statista.com/statistics/726724/weight-of-most-common-items-found-in-global-oceans/

3 - https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/376957

4 - https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.8b01533#

5 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9340047/#R1

Additional - https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jun/12/tobacco-alcohol-ultra-processed-foods-fossil-fuels-deaths