Tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. Tobacco usage results in 5.4 million deaths globally out of which India alone accounts for around 13 lakh deaths annually. It means 3500 lives are lost daily in our country due to the habit of tobacco consumption.  

GATS (Global Adult Tobacco Survey) (2016-17) (for those who are aged 15yrs and above) has found that 28.65% adults in India use tobacco. In case of Assam, 48.2% of the total population consume tobacco in some form or the other. Current cigarette smokers constitute 6.1%, bidi smokers constitute 8.6% & smoke-less tobacco (SLT) users constitute 41.7% of the total population.

GYTS (Global Youth Tobacco Survey) 2019 has revealed that 11.9% students in Assam aged between 13-15 yrs. use tobacco in some form or the other. Exposure to second-hand smoke causes numerous health problems in infants, children and adult with frequent asthma attacks, respiratory infection, ear infection etcetera. Spitting of tobacco/tobacco products is also a public health hazard as it may lead to transmission of TB, swine flu, COVID19 etcetera besides causing nuisance. Consumption of tobacco has been found to be the cause of death of around 12% of the youths globally. Almost 40% of the Indian population is made up of youths.

 

As the younger generation is highly vulnerable to tobacco addiction and there is an urgent need to protect them from this growing menace, the State Tobacco Control Cell (STCC) Assam has been making sincere efforts to train stakeholders like NGO’s, health & social workers, school teachers, transport officials etcetera to achieve the objectives of the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) which are :- (a) to reduce demand & supply of tobacco products to protect the citizens (b) to facilitate effective implementation of tobacco control laws (c) to bring about greater awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco and (d) effective counselling through tobacco cessation centers.

This year, 33 District Tobacco Control Cells under the guidance of the State Tobacco Control Cell organised ‘World No-tobacco Day’ & ‘World Environment Day’ in a befitting manner with the active involvement of the student community. The theme for the ‘World No-tobacco Day’ this year was ‘Tobacco- threat to the environment’ while the theme for ‘World Environment Day’ was ‘Only one Earth’. It is worth mentioning that research carried out by the National Institute for Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR) & School of Public Health- AIIMS, Jodhpur titled “Environmental Burden due to Tobacco Product Waste Assam Factsheet – 2022”, yielded the following worrying figures: –

 Plastic waste generated

• The total annual plastic waste generated by cigarettes is 78.37 tonnes.
• The total annual plastic waste generated by bidis is 208.71 tonnes.
• The total annual plastic waste generated by SLTs 3137.15 tonnes.
• Thus, the total annual plastic waste generated by all forms of tobacco products amounts to 3424.23 tonnes.

Paper waste

• The total annual paper waste generated by cigarettes is 1206.75 tonnes.
• The total annual paper waste generated by bidis is 177.63 tonnes.
• The total annual paper waste generated by SLTs 2531.11 tonnes.
• Thus, the total annual paper waste generated by all forms of tobacco products amounts to 2708.74tonnes.

Foil waste

• The total foil waste produced per year by tobacco products (cigarettes) is 233.34 tonnes.

Filter waste

• The total annual filter waste generated by cigarettes is 50.36 tonnes.
• The total annual filter waste generated by bidis is 1.11 tonnes.
• Thus, the total annual filter waste generated by all forms of tobacco products amounts to 51.47 tonnes.

Total Waste generated

• Total waste (Paper + Plastic + Foil + Filter) generated by all the tobacco products per year is 7624.52644 tonnes.
• Total waste produced per year by Cigarette is 1568.81 tonnes.
• Total waste produced per year by Bidi is 687.45 tonnes.
• Total waste produced per year by SLT 5668.26 tonnes.

Equivalent

• Plastic: 3424230 Buckets
• Paper: 66958 Trees
• Paper: 3621798 Notebooks
• Foil: 1 Boeing Aircraft
• Filter: 342120 T-shirt

Even a casual look at the above figures makes it amply clear how tobacco use & environmental degradation are very closely linked. While the State Tobacco Control Cell along with the District Tobacco Control Cells are doing their bit to raise awareness about the impact of tobacco on the health of the people & the environment, it is pretty evident that only a mass public movement can lead to a successful outcome when it comes to countering the tobacco menace.

Source: TMN