This summer, India endured an unprecedented heatwave, with Odisha facing the harshest brunt, recording 27 extreme weather days. Western Rajasthan followed with 23 days, Gangetic West Bengal with 21, and Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, and western UP each with 20 days. These figures, more than double the usual, highlight a growing climate crisis demanding urgent attention. We have often discussed and dissected the myriad factors causing these environmental issues in an intellectual manner, all while a burning cigarette dangles between two fingers. This irony underscores our complacency, as the very act of smoking contributes to the degradation we so passionately debate. It’s time to confront our contradictions and act decisively for the planet’s sake.

“Smoking is injurious to health” is perhaps India’s most well-publicized health warning, an omnipresent reminder of the personal toll tobacco takes. Yet, lurking beneath this familiar refrain is a less popular but equally critical truth: cigarettes wreak havoc on the environment. In the quiet corners of our cities, along the once-pristine banks of rivers, and scattered across our beaches, a silent scourge festers ~ cigarette butts. These toxic remnants of a fleeting vice silently poison our planet, leaving an indelible mark on our ecosystems. As we grapple with the visible health impacts of smoking, it’s imperative to confront its insidious environmental consequences. Each year, the staggering worldwide production of 5.5 trillion cigarettes results in the inappropriate disposal of approximately 4.5 trillion cigarette butts.

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India’s landfills receive over 100 billion cigarette butts per year. Amidst the smoke haze of tobacco’s impact on our environment, a startling statistic emerges: each year, our nation discards over 17 million kilograms of tobacco-related garbage. With legal cigarettes representing just 10 per cent of the market share, the alarming weight of bidi waste looms ominously, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive action to address this environmental crisis. Cigarette filters, capturing some of the toxic chemicals from smoking, still harbour over 7,000 compounds, with at least 150 known toxins. Each discarded butt can contaminate up to 1,000 litres of water, releasing hazardous substances such as toxic metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and nitrogenic compounds.

Studies reveal that these chemicals persist in the environment, bioaccumulate in organisms, and induce harmful effects. Most cigarette filters, despite seeming like cotton, are really composed of plastic fibres called cellulose acetate, which can take up to a decade to decompose. Imagine a threat from plastic that has been quietly leaking lead, formaldehyde, nicotine, and arsenic into our ecosystems over a tenyear period. Every butt, a storehouse of dangerous substances, is a little time bomb waiting to devastate the ecosystem. As the most common form of anthropogenic litter, cigarette butts pose a dire environmental threat. These ubiquitous pollutants wash into rivers, lakes, and oceans, becoming a fatal snack for unsuspecting birds, animals, and fish. These filters, non-biodegradable in nature, stubbornly resist the natural order of decay.

While the sun’s ultraviolet rays may eventually fragment them into smaller pieces, the toxic materials they contain persist, contaminating soil and water alike. What we face here is not just litter; it’s a global crisis. The implications extend beyond environmental damage. Cigarette butts have sparked wildfires, laying waste to wildlife, vegetation, and human structures. On the other hand, the economic burden of clearing littered tobacco products falls unjustly on taxpayers, not the industry responsible. Annually, this expense amounts to approximately USD 2.6 billion in China and USD 766 million in India, with Brazil and Germany each surpassing USD 200 million. Such enormous expenses underscore the urgent need for industry accountability and proactive solutions. Recently, we graciously passed World No Tobacco Day on May 31, which is commemorated to raise public awareness of the risks associated with tobacco use, expose the practices of the tobacco industry, emphasize the WHO’s anti-tobacco initiatives, and support future generations’ health and protection.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has labelled tobacco as “a threat to our oceans.” Article 18 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) urges countries to safeguard both the environment and public health. To address the significant environmental and health impacts of microplastics in cigarette filters, UNEP and the WHO FCTC Secretariat have partnered to raise awareness and promote action. On 5 February 2004, India became a signatory to the WHO FCTC.

The agreement became operative on 27 February 2005. On the other hand, decades of the tobacco industry’s deception have ensnared generations, fuelling a global epidemic. This multi-billion-dollar behemoth preys on children and adolescents with cunning advertising by employing cinema and sports celebrities, launching products faster than regulations can keep pace. Despite evidence-based measures and governmental efforts, these industries relentlessly expand their market share, prioritizing profit over public health and targeting our most vulnerable. As a result, people light up while at work and during leisure. In some colleges and universities, it becomes a tradition to permit smoking by students. Recently, the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 indicated an increase in spending on paan, tobacco, and intoxicants in both rural and urban areas.

Rural expenditure rose from 3.21 per cent (2011–12) to 3.79 per cent, while urban spending increased from 1.61 per cent to 2.43 per cent, indicating the production of more cigarette butts to fulfil the demand. So, the time has come for collective action. It is crucial to understand that the fight against cigarette waste is a struggle for a healthier future as well as a cleaner environment as we tackle this widespread issue. By addressing the root of the problem ~ holding the tobacco industry accountable, enhancing public awareness, and implementing stringent regulations ~ we can begin to reclaim our landscapes from this silent scourge. Here the chronicle of the long-protracted battle provides us with encouragement in this regard. In 1970, Clara Gouin, a stay-at-home mother, sparked a grassroots movement against tobacco’s grip.

Fuelled by personal tragedy and societal indifference, she founded the Group Against Smokers’ Pollution (GASP). Their mission: to challenge the social acceptance of smoking. Though outnumbered, they fought valiantly, paving the way for today’s citizens to reclaim clean air. A few well-known figures who effectively advocate for the rights of non-smokers are Luther Terry and John Banzhaf. Today amidst mounting environmental concerns, local authorities must confront the lash of non-biodegradable cigarette butt waste. Initiatives like Nirit Datta’s ButtRush campaign and Naman Gupta and Vipul Gupta’s Code Effort, highlight the urgent need for action.

But enlightenment alone is insufficient; laws and institutions must evolve. Political manifestos should address cigarette butt pollution. People need to be forced. Here, we must choose between the democratic right to smoke and preserving the environment for future generations. And in the end, the true measure of our progress can be a world where cigarette butts are no longer a thoroughgoing blight but a relic of a past we’ve risen above.

(The writer is on the faculty of the Department of Statistics, Basanti Devi College, Kolkata)