Tobacco & the Environment

Being a nursing student, we are constantly being taught about the dangers of smoking to human beings. What we don't usually discuss is it's impact on the environment. All of the nursing students had to participate in a Florida AHEC (area health education centers) smoking cessation training seminar. They taught us about dangers to people as well as the environment. Here are a few new things that are an issue regarding smoking: To grow tobacco, people are clear cutting forests so that they can plant it. The fertilizer runoff is affecting bodies of water as well. Litter from cigarette butts and fires are also a problem. I never view smoking as harmful to the environment, only harmful to people. This seminar changed my view of the issue. This crop isn't even absolutely necessary compared to food crops, so if people didn't smoke, we wouldn't even have to grow it and there wouldn't be as much deforestation, litter, pollution or fires. Unfortunately, growing tobacco is strictly all about money (and I doubt everyone in the world is going to quit smoking).