Smoking

About smoking

Despite a continuing decline in the prevalence of smoking over recent years, smoking remains the leading cause of illness and premature mortality in the UK, killing around 74,600 people in England in 2019.

Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. It causes lung cancer, respiratory disease, and cardiovascular disease, as well as many cancers. More than 7000 chemicals have been identified in tobacco smoke, at least 70 of these are known to cause cancer in humans and in animals.

The minimum age of sale for cigarettes and tobacco is 18 and it is illegal to sell these to under 18s or to purchase them on behalf of under 18s.

 

Smoking, stress, and mental health

Some people smoke to cope with feelings of stress. Whilst nicotine provides an immediate sense of relaxation, this is short lived (around 20 mins). When nicotine levels drop, people experience withdrawal symptoms and cravings which can make people to feel irritable, anxious and depressed.

Smoking and mental health - YouTube

 

Environmental impact

Most of the tobacco is grown in low- and middle-income countries. Water and farmland are needed here to produce food for the region, however, instead it is used to grow tobacco plants. Tree felling to make way for tobacco growing makes up 5% of global deforestation.

Tobacco smoke contains three major greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, and nitrous oxides), in addition to other air pollutants.

Additionally, most of the waste produced throughout the tobacco product lifecycle is hazardous. Around 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are discarded every year worldwide. The cigarette filters don’t biodegrade and can remain in the environment for a long time in the form of microplastics. These can make their way into water systems affecting water quality and aquatic animals.

References

Smoking and tobacco: applying All Our Health (2022) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smoking-and-tobacco-applying-all-our-health/smoking-and-tobacco-applying-all-our-health

Tobacco: Poisoning our planet (2022) World Health Organisation https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240051287