The adverse impacts of tobacco on health are well known. However, its production, curing and consumption are equally harmful to the environment too besides contributing to green house effects, a Parliamentary panel has said.
In its report ‘Effects of Tobacco intake on Health and its Curing on Environment’, the panel led by Rajya Sabha member Renuka Chowdhury has recommended that tobacco consumption and cultivation of tobacco must be discouraged and an Environmental Impact Assessment of cultivation of tobacco to be undertaken in order to know its harmful effects on environment.
In several parts of the country, firewood is used to dry the green leaves. Around 6-8kg of fuel wood and 12kg of dried wood is required to cure 1kg of tobacco.
"The Committee finds that financial benefits that accrue in various forms on account of tobacco are negligible compared to losses suffered in terms of deaths of people and the expenditure incurred by the Government on treatment of tobacco related problems of people.
"Besides financial burden on the exchequer, its social cost/effect on society in terms of expenditure on treatment on tobacco related diseases and loss of lives, is enormous.
"The Committee, therefore, recommends that the cultivation of tobacco needs to be discouraged by providing incentives for shifting to other crops and disincentivizing production of tobacco gradually but definitively," said the panel in its report tabled in Parliament recently.
The Committee also recommended discourage of consumption of tobacco in any form and called for launching effective awareness campaigns.
"Better coordinated efforts such as awareness campaigns by the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Agriculture, Finance, Commerce and Industry, Human Resource Development, Information & Broadcasting and Environment, Forest and Climate Change need to be undertaken. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change should find out the estimated felling of trees for curing of tobacco and its effect on forests," said the report.
With reference to the effects of chemical pesticides in tobacco cultivation and its affect on the crops which are grown in and around tobacco fields, the Committee recommended that tobacco farmers need to be educated about the effect of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on soil quality and encouraged to use organic manures/fertilizers.
The panel also recommended exploring feasibility of programs like "grow own fuel" by tobacco growers on the lines of a similar program in Brazil and Kenya indicated by the Tobacco Board besides using solar energy, bio-gas and electricity for curing tobacco.
The Environment Ministry should find out the estimated felling of trees for curing of tobacco and its effect on forests, the panel added.