The Dirt Behind Big Tobacco and the Environment

The next time you go for a walk, look at the ground. How many littered cigarette butts do you see? Chances are, more than a few. Cigarette butts are the most littered item on the planet—4.5 trillion are discarded every year. While cigarette waste may be the most visible form of environmental degradation the tobacco industry contributes to, it’s only one way the industry creates lasting damage to the environment and subsequently, the people who live in it (that’s all of us—smokers and nonsmokers alike).