Essay Example about Tobacco: Humankind’s Silent Threat

Humankind has witnessed a drastic evolution over the years. From ape-like ancestors to present-day man, humans have travelled a long way.  However, in this spree to evolve, we have often neglected our environment and have frequently failed to realise that it is indeed this environment that deserves the credit for man’s existence. In this aspiration to urbanize and industrialize, humans have ravaged their nature. Deforestation, environmental pollution, global warming and subsequently, climate change brought about by man’s activities have strained the environment around them. A significant hazard to the environment is Tobacco. Tobacco is a plant belonging to the genus Nicotiana and the family Solanaceae of the kingdom Plantae. The popularity of this plant has not grown recently; its origin traces back to 1492 when the Native American Tribes greeted Columbus with dried tobacco leaves. These were considered prized possessions, and since then, they have held a strong foothold worldwide. 

Tobacco is grown as a monocrop (a single crop on the field without rotating the crops over seasons). As a result, the soil becomes vulnerable to pests and diseases while experiencing a degradation in quality. In addition, tobacco cultivation requires large quantities of chemicals: insecticides, fumigants and growth regulators to inhibit the growth of pests. In low and middle-income countries, the farmers carry this exercise out with backpack sprayers devoid of the essential protective equipment that exposes their skin and respiratory system to the toxic chemicals. Health effects from chronic exposure to certain chemicals include congenital disabilities, benign and malignant tumours, genetic changes, blood disorders, neurological disorders and endocrine disruption. Another peril of tobacco cultivation is Deforestation. Tobacco cultivation requires clearing forests, while the wood procured is used to cure the leaves, create rolling paper and package tobacco post cultivation. This process of curing emits a large number of greenhouse gases, straining the air quality in that vicinity. Soil erosion, too, has become an unavoidable predicament due to tobacco cultivation. Wind and water frequently erode soil due to its degraded quality. Moreover, organic pesticides like persistent organic pollutants (POPs) used in tobacco cultivation are often not correctly labelled and lack the instructions that leave the farmers unaware of their hazardous impact, the appropriate dosage and safety measures they should undertake. The last stage of the life cycle of tobacco is post-consumer waste. The remains of cigarettes (smoked tobacco products) are the most littered waste items on Earth that defile nature. These non-biodegradable components discharge toxins into soil and water, harming plant and marine life. 

Tobacco cultivation needs to be curtailed to establish a healthy society around us. This will require adequate measures such as increased taxation of tobacco products, stricter laws on usage and restrictions on advertising, and mandatory health warnings on packages to be taken. Indeed, these measures will support eradicating tobacco production and consumption that could lead to several beneficial changes, including poverty eradication, reductions in child mortality and improvements in global food security.