In the past we have talked about the litter problem resulting from cigarette smoking. We tendered some solutions: biodegradable filters and butt boxes, as well as a suggestion for responsible disposable messages on cigarette packaging. But really these are what are known as 'end-of-pipe' solutions. They deal with the result of the problem, not its cause: society's addictive consumption of tobacco. We do like positive stories at TH, but this time around we offer a few sobering snippets of info on the issue and hope they might lead to greater insight ... and action. (Sources can be found by clicking the numbered references.)Global cigarette production in 2004 was 5.5 trillion units, or 868 cigarettes per every man, woman and child on the planet . 1
There are around 1.2 billion smokers in the world (about one-third of the global population aged 15 and over). 2. Nearly forty per cent (39.4%) of Europeans smoke, (up from 1995, when a figure of 33.9% recorded.) 2a.
At least 4.5 trillion [non-biodegradable] filter-tipped cigarettes are deposited annually somewhere in the world. 3