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The Effect of Smoking on Trees

If you are worried about the effects of smoking on forests--or even just on your household plants--you have got good cause to be concerned. Whether it is adding to pollution or subtracting nutrients from the soil, cigarettes impact our plant life in alarming ways.

  1. Air Pollution

    • A 2004 study cited in Medical News Today found that "the air pollution emitted by cigarettes is 10 times greater than diesel car exhaust." According to the study, cigarette smoke increased fine particulate matter--the most dangerous component of pollution--15 times.

    Harm to Indoor Plants

    • Indoor smoking can produce high levels of ethylene, causing house plants to drop their leaves, according to Professor's House, a home and gardening website.

    Tobacco Farming

    • In addition to the direct physical effect of the smoke on plants, the process of creating cigarettes promotes poor soil and rampant deforestation, reports environmental website TreeHugger.com. The website goes on to note that cigarette litter is pervasive and mostly non-biodegradable.

    Curing Tobacco

    • Most tobacco-curing processes involve heat, and much of the time that heat is created by wood-fueled fires. TreeHugger.com notes that 600 million trees are used to cure tobacco every year.

    Paper Usage

    • Cigarettes are a paper product. Anti-smoking website SmokeFreeKids.com notes that "modern cigarette manufacturing machines use six kilometres of paper per hour."

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