The Environmental Focus of Tobacco Control

The Environmental Focus of Tobacco Control

The lifecycle of tobacco products has a strong impact on the environment. Pesticides are used when growing tobacco, chemicals and plastics are used when tobacco products are manufactured, distribution throughout the global market requires fossil fuels, and once products are used, microplastics, chemicals, and e-cigarette batteries make their way to open water and land, polluting waterways, local environments, and animal habitats. Many areas of government and nonprofit organizations have adapted methods for preventing tobacco product waste from making its way to local ecosystems, including the adaptation of the Clean Water Act, the Cigarette Butt Pollution Project, and the Krueger-Griffin bill, which proposes a ban on the sale of cigarettes with single-use filters, including single-use electronic cigarettes. 

Knowing that not only are tobacco products harmful to individual and public health but also the environment, how can communities advocate for stronger local tobacco control regulations that allow them to ensure there is access to hazardous waste sites for disposal of e-cigarettes and legislation to protect local ecosystems? Join Thomas Novotny, MD, MPH '92 and Ryan Kennedy, PhD for a facilitated discussion around the history of tobacco control, where we are now, and where Novotny and Kennedy want to see the field move in the future.