World No Tobacco Day: Every year more than 8m die from tobacco

Every year, more than eight million people die from tobacco use, the United Nations said on Tuesday to mark the 'World No Tobacco Day'.

Around 600,000,000 trees are chopped, 84,000,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide are released into the air, and 22,000,000,000 tonnes of water are used up, the World Health Organization has further highlighted, elaborating on the implication.

According to the WHO, the consumption of tobacco worldwide has a devastating impact on the environment too. In a fact sheet, the world health body highlights that it can be linked to large-scale deforestation, and loss of biodiversity, including wildlife. Apart from the depletion of the planet's water, it is also responsible for "exhaustion of fossil fuel and metal resources. desertification, depleting soil fertility", it says.

"Exuberant emission of greenhouse gases, contamination of drinking water, and emission of toxicants in the air via direct, second-and third-hand smoke," have been counted among other challenges.

With cigarette butts being non-biodegradable, the environment faces a further danger, the WHO fact-sheet says, adding that degradation of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is another issue.

On World Tobacco Day, an interesting statistics have been shared by Australia's Cancer Council, which highlight challenges faced by smokers in quitting.

"Around two-thirds of Australian smokers undertook at least one activity to help them quit in 2019[iii], but we know it can be an incredibly challenging task. Implementing an integrated multi-channel, public education campaign would not only motivate and support current smokers to quit, it would also play an important role in de-normalising tobacco use and discouraging uptake among young people," it said.