How tobacco industry’s destructive practices are ‘ damaging’ environment
• WHO urges govts to ban greenwashing activities of tobacco industry to appear nature- friendly
THE World Health Organisation ( WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control ( FCTC) and the Stopping Tobacco Organisations and Products ( STOP), a global tobacco industry watchdog, have started a process to expose the tobacco industry’s destructive practices affecting the environment as well as their green- washing tactics, and show ways of restricting these practices through policy measures and awareness raising campaigns.
Greenwashing is the practice of marketing a company or organisation so they appear more environmentfriendly or more ecological ( more natural, healthier, free of chemicals, recyclable, less wasteful of natural resources...) when in practice, its activities pollute the environment.
WHO, FCTC and STOP, in a joint webinar, on Thursday, May 12, 2022, said the adverse environmental impact of tobacco is often overlooked by the public and intentionally underplayed by the tobacco industry and has consequently drawn very little attention over the past decades.
They said this deception is also the result of the greenwashing tactics introduced by controversial industries in the early 2000’ s as an attempt to represent their environmentally destructive products and business practices as sustainable. These tactics include cynical marketing strategies and corporate social responsibility schemes focused on building sustainable communities and economies in low- middle income countries. Awards given to them by well- respected sustainability indexes have further bolstered the tobacco industry’s socioenvironmental reputation.
The webinar was lead up to World No Tobacco Day on
May 31, 2022. A new report
spotlighting the extensive environmental damage caused by tobacco companies and how the industry “greenwashes” its products and activities to appear environmentfriendly was published during the webinar. It was timed to the start of the webinar, which was co- hosted by WHO and STOP that featured tobacco control experts and advocates from Africa, Asia, and Europe. The event came just two weeks ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, which has a special focus this year on environmental impacts.
The panelists briefed participants on the significant ecological impact of tobacco production, an industry that is responsible for the release of more than 80 million tonnes of carbon dioxide ( CO2) per year, and the most littered item on earth, cigarette butts.
The panelists shared examples of greenwashing in countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Kenya, Indonesia, Nigeria, and more.
Speakers include: Dr. Maria Neira, WHO Director, Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health; Dr. Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Head of the WHO FCTC Secretariat Uruguay; Mr. Andy Rowell, Senior Researcher, Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath, a partner in STOP United Kingdom; Ms. Raquel Fernández Megina, President, Nofumadores Spain; Ms. Emmanuelle Beguinot, Director, CNCT ( National Committee Against Tobacco) France; Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria; Miss Dianita Sugiyo, Muhammadiyah Steps, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta Indonesia; and Ms. Femi Oke, International Broadcaster ( Moderator).
According to the WHO, environmental impacts of tobacco farming include massive use of water, large- scale deforestation, and contamination of the air and water systems. Many countries that grow and/ or produce tobacco are low- or middle- income countries and some of them face substantive food insecurity, and even hunger.
Indeed, experts at the webinar called on nations to ban
the greenwashing activities of the tobacco industry, responsible for the release of more than 80 million tonnes of carbon dioxide ( CO2) per year, and the most littered item on earth, cigarette butts.
In a report, last week, they spotlight the extensive environmental damage caused by tobacco companies and how the industry “greenwashes” its products and activities to appear environmentally friendly.
Calling for action, the report, ‘ Talking Trash: Behind the Tobacco Industry’s agreen Public Relations’, said the governments and the public around the world should be aware that greenwashing by the tobacco industry is increasing and needs to be countered.
Despite the attempts by the industry to improve its image, tobacco use remains one of the leading causes of premature death and a major cause of environmental harm.
The governments that are parties to the FCTC also have an obligation to exclude the industry from engagement or influence over health policy, no matter how hard the industry attempts to greenwash its image.