Say no to cigarette smoke, let the planet breathe

Medicine has shown that tobacco has a very negative impact on health, and tobacco use also affects the family economy, society and living environment.

Smoking is the main cause of air pollution in homes, workplaces, schools, public places... and outdoors because cigarette smoke releases thousands of toxic chemicals into the air.

In addition to the harmful effects on health, cigarettes also contribute significantly to environmental destruction. Used cigarette butts and cigarette packs generate a large amount of waste; it is estimated that each year up to 4,500 billion cigarette butts are released into the environment.

Not only is it dirty waste, cigarette butts are also harmful to aquatic life if left on beaches, rivers, lakes or washed down the drain because they take 5-7 years to decompose.

Every year, an estimated 1.4% of the world's forests are destroyed to harvest wood for tobacco drying, which is also used to build drying kilns, make cigarette paper and cigarette packaging.

During the cigarette manufacturing process, many wastes are released into the environment, including: solvents, coal sludge, plastic oils, paper and wood as well as other toxic chemical wastes.

Tobacco is a heavy user of soil nutrients. No other plant takes up as many soil nutrients (potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen) as tobacco, which leads to accelerated soil erosion as the soil becomes depleted.

Growing tobacco requires the use of many types of pesticides and herbicides. The toxic substances in the chemicals seep and accumulate, polluting water sources and soil. In addition, cigarette butts can be one of the causes of forest fires and large fires because they often burn for a long time and smolder.

The World Health Organization recommends: There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, so to protect public health from the harmful effects of second-hand tobacco smoke exposure, indoor air must be completely smoke-free.

As well as the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms issued by the National Assembly on June 18, 2012, "All citizens are entitled to live and work in an environment free of cigarette smoke, and are also required to smoke in places where smoking is prohibited" such as: medical facilities, schools, workplaces, entertainment venues, areas with high risk of fire and explosion...

Tobacco is the cause of many diseases and deaths, but it is completely preventable if people strictly follow the regulations of the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms.

Creating smoke-free environments has been shown to be a simple, effective approach to preventing tobacco exposure and related harm. Therefore, working together to create smoke-free environments is an effective way to protect people from exposure to tobacco smoke.