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Why the New Stricter Cigarette Laws Coming to the US are Good for the Environment
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 06.12.09

Photo via TVgasm
The US Senate just passed a law that will impose way stricter regulations on smoking and the tobacco industry—it's expected to pass the House, and Obama has said he'll sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk. And even though smoking is seen first and foremost a health issue—no one need be reminded of the catastrophic effects of the habit—it has a disastrous effect on the environment as well. Here's how the new smoking laws could provide some serious relief to US ecosystems.
The new law, known as the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, would allow the FDA to set standards that reduce nicotine content and determine which chemicals are allowed into cigarettes. It would also clamp down on cigarette marketing campaigns, forcing all ads to be done in text-only black and white printing, and will force tobacco companies to place graphic warning signs on their packaging. Finally, flavored cigarettes will be abolished, and terms like "light" and "low tar" will be illegal to use.
Oh yeah, and the costs of imposing all of the new initiatives will be absorbed by the tobacco companies, which would likely lead to a rise in prices, too.
All this would lead to a projected drop in youth smoking by 11% and adult smoking by 2%, which is big news, considering that some 20% of the 300 million or so Americans smoke. Which means the number of American smokers could fall from the current level of around 60 million to as low as around 52 million over the next ten years. This will lead to a massive drop in cigarette packing waste, and butt debris.
This is good news for oh so many reasons. Here are few:
Strict Smoking Laws Are Good Environmental News
·      Cigarette butts are one of the most common kinds of litter—and they're not harmless pieces of cotton as many once believed: in truth, they contain chemicals that can be toxic to soil and wildlife. A decrease in the number of smokers would obviously curb the amount of butt waste. ·         A study in San Diego revealed that cigarette butts are poisonous to fish—the fewer that get tossed on beaches or end up in lakes, the better.
·         In fact, cigarette materials, along with plastic, account for half of the marine waste in the world's oceans. Even though the US isn't a prime contributor on this front (Southeast Asia and South America are worse), the law will still help keep butts and packaging out of oceans where they can damage habitats and cause marine life to choke.
·         Smoking is an indoor air pollutant, and a danger to everyone who shares the space.
·         Cigarettes are a leading cause of deforestation: 600 million trees a year fall in the name of tobacco. A few million less smokers may help to at least slow that number.
·         As fellow TreeHugger Warren MacLean points out, "modern cigarette manufacturing machines use more than six kilometres of paper per hour," which contributes to the above. He also notes that "Tobacco is particularly potassium-hungry, absorbing up to six times as much as other crops, leaving soil in poor condition for essential food and cash crops.

And while a few million less smokers isn't going to immediately alleviate all of these issues, it could relieve a good deal of stress on the environment in the US.

미국 상원에서 담배회사 및 흡연에 대한 규제 법안이 통과되었다. 담배가 백해무익하다는 것은 누구나 아는 사실이다. 담배는 건강에 좋지 않으며, 환경에도 매우 나쁜 영향을 끼친다. 새 법안은 FDA에서 니코틴 함량을 줄이고 어떤 화학 성분을 허용할 것인지에 대한 표준을 제정케 한다. 그리고 담배 회사의 광고를 강력히 단속하여 오로지 흑백 텍스트만 쓸 수 있고 경고 문구 및 이미지를 필수적으로 삽입케 한다. 또, 순한 담배를 지칭하는 라이트, 저타르 등의 용어는 사용이 금지된다.

금연이 환경에 미칠 수 있는 영향 7가지를 아래에 정리하였다.

1. 버려지는 담배 꽁초에는 독성을 지닌 화학물질이 남아있다. 이런 화학물질은 토양에 나쁜 영향을 미친다. 금연을 하는 사람들이 늘어나면 담배 꽁초 쓰레기가 줄어든다고 볼 수 있다.

2. 담배 꽁초는 어류에 위협적인 존재이다. 해변가나 강가에 담배를 피우고 버리는 경우가 줄어든다.

3. 전세계 바다에 버려지는 쓰레기 중 담배 꽁초와 플라스틱이 절반 이상을 차지한다. 담배 꽁초가 줄어들면 해양 생태계에 좋은 영향을 미칠 수 있다.

4. 실내에서 흡연을 하면 공기가 탁해진다. 이는 같은 공간을 쓰는 사람들에게 간접흡연으로 건강에 위협을 가한다.

5. 담배 생산을 위해 매년 600만 그루의 나무가 베어진다. 흡연량이 줄어들면 삼림 벌채 또한 감소한다.

6. 담배제조 기계는 1시간에 6km 정도의 종이를 더 사용한다. 삼림 벌채의 감소를 유도할 수 있다.

7. 담배 식물은 칼륨이 항상 필요로 하기 때문에 다른 작물에 비해 토양에서 칼륨을 6배나 더 흡수한다. 토양은 담배 때문에 필수 섭취 성분인 칼륨이 부족하게 된다.

Smoking seriously harms you and others around you.

나 자신, 가족, 친구, 환경을 위해서 우리 모두 금연합시다!