Inspired by an original post on LinkedIn, this article was written for CityChangers.org by Jeanelle Gladwish, founder of the first and only translation agency dedicated entirely to sustainability, sustainability translators. In it, she argues that it’s time to rethink antisocial, unhealthy, and environmentally damaging behaviours – namely smoking – in the same way we question the use of fossil fuels in cities.
It takes approximately 6 minutes to smoke a cigarette, yet its environmental impact can last a lifetime.
One weekday morning, not too long ago, I woke up to the unmistakable smell of cigarette smoke sneaking through the bedroom window of my fifth-floor apartment in Barcelona. It wasn’t too early, Barcelona doesn’t wake up that early anyway, but it was definitely too early to be hit with that smell, which immediately led me to think: “These things should be banned.”
They smell bad.
They harm our health.
They litter our streets.
They pollute our oceans.
And it doesn’t stop there. They seep into our lungs, our ecosystems, and our daily urban lives.
Curious (and, well, quite irritated), I did a bit of research. Here’s what I found.
The Environmental Impact of Cigarettes
More than 1 billion people in the world smoke, and the repercussions we see in cities are just one piece of a much bigger global problem.
Forests
Tobacco farming accounts for approximately 5% of total deforestation worldwide. In fact, we’re losing around 200,000 hectares of forests and woodland to make space for tobacco crops every year – as well as for tobacco curing and packaging.
Soil
Often grown as a sole crop on a piece of land, rather than in a diverse crop rotation with other plants, tobacco causes nutrient depletion of soil and poor soil structure. This makes the crop more vulnerable to pests and diseases. To manage these issues, farmers rely heavily on pesticides, fertilisers, and other chemicals, which can degrade soil health further and contribute to erosion, particularly during heavy rains. These chemicals not only harm the environment, but also pose significant health risks to the farmers themselves.
Water
Tobacco cultivation consumes a staggering 22 billion tonnes of water each year. That’s the equivalent of supplying the daily water needs of approximately 1.2 billion people for a full twelve months.
In times like these, when droughts are a significant issue and water is scarce in many cities, one cannot help but wonder: why are we using resources for this industry when they are desperately needed elsewhere?
Air
Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, and at least 69 of these can cause cancer. That part I half-knew. But this? This shocked me: cigarette smoke emits ten times more particulate matter than diesel exhaust.
Let that land for a second.
We talk a lot about air pollution in cities. How transport is a major culprit, how we need more bicycles and fewer cars. But perhaps we should be talking more about that person walking down the street with a cigarette in one hand, and a vulnerable 3-year-old in the other.
Lives
Cigarettes kill more than 8 million people each year, including an estimated 1.3 million non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke. You know the particulate matter I mentioned before? That doesn’t just disappear. It hangs in the air and settles in your lungs. Even if you’ve never touched a cigarette in your life, through second-hand smoke, you’re at a higher risk of getting asthma, heart disease, and even lung cancer.
Litter
Perhaps one of the most visible yet underestimated forms of pollution comes from discarded cigarette butts. With approximately 4.5 trillion butts discarded annually, they are the most littered item globally. When discarded, they release toxic chemicals like nicotine, tar, and heavy metals into the environment. On top of this, the filters in cigarette butts are made of a type of plastic that takes years to break down. As they degrade, they fragment into microplastics, which spread throughout the environment, from our oceans and marine animals’ stomachs to the soil where we grow our food. Put simply, they become part of the food we eat.
And that’s even before we consider the environmental damaged caused by e-cigarettes! So, there’s even more to talk about, but let’s leave it at that for now.
Urban Impact: Cigarettes on Our Streets
Scattered across pavements, cigarette butts are an eye-sore! They get flicked into parks, playgrounds, beaches, and balconies, or even tossed out of car windows. When rain washes them away, they clog drains and pollute waterways.
Think about all the places where people smoke: waiting at bus stops, sitting on café terraces, outside hospitals (yes, hospitals!), and at airport terminals (don’t you just love the smell of cigarettes as soon as you step outside into a new country?). It’s everywhere!
In dense cities like Barcelona, smoking isn’t just a public health issue, it’s a shared air issue. Second-hand smoke, which we’ve already recognised as deadly, is currently difficult to control for non-smokers.
Many cities have banned smoking indoors, but what about outdoor public spaces? Shouldn’t they also be regulated? Some cities already think so.
Urban Initiatives: Fighting Cigarettes in Cities
Finally!! A hint of positivity: Here are a few examples of what cities around the globe are doing to tackle cigarette litter and encourage people to stop smoking.
Barcelona (Europe)
Smoking is banned on all of Barcelona’s beaches. There are banners everywhere, and you even hear announcements throughout the day reminding people that smoking on the beach is prohibited.
Tokyo (Asia)
In Tokyo, strict outdoor smoking rules are enforced. On the streets, smoking is only permitted in designated areas, and on train platforms, you are only allowed to smoke inside special enclosed smoking rooms.
Sydney (Australia)
Landmark places in Sydney (like Martin Place, Pitt Street Mall, and Sydney Square) were made smoke-free to support a healthier way of life.
San Francisco (North America)
A cigarette litter abatement fee was introduced in San Francisco, primarily to address the high cost to the municipality of cleaning up cigarette butt litter. As of 01 January 2025, this fee went up to $1.75 per pack.
Mexico (South America)
In 2023, Mexico introduced one of the world’s strictest anti-tobacco laws by enacting a total ban on smoking in public spaces. That includes parks, beaches, hotels, offices, and restaurants.
Cape Town (Africa)
Since 2020, the city of Cape Town has been working on increasing smoke-free compliance in public buildings, and raising awareness about the harms of second-hand tobacco smoke. To mark World No Tobacco Day 2022, the city announced the introduction of new smoke-free spaces, reducing the number of places to smoke or purchase cigarettes within buildings owned by the city.
It’s great to see progress, but I really do believe that there’s much more we can do.
Rebuttals (Pun Intended)
And now for the “butts” of the conversation. Of course, there will be those who want to argue against all the above. So, let me try to stay one step-ahead. You may be thinking:
“But smokers have rights!”
Yes, we all do. That’s my point. I enjoy sitting on a cafe terrace and people-watching, just the same as you. We would all benefit from reserved “fresh air zones” in shared outdoor spaces – maybe like Tokyo, with its designated smoking areas.
“But think of the tax revenue.”
It’s true that tobacco taxes generate significant revenue, but the total global economic cost of smoking, including healthcare, is estimated at $1.85 trillion, or around 1.8% of global GDP. We’re not profiting, we’re paying to fix the mess!
“But everyone else litters, my little cigarette butt won’t make a difference.”
It does. If everyone shifts their mindset to, “If we all stop littering, we’ll make a difference,” then we can make a real impact.
Final Thoughts: A Call for Change
The smell that woke me up? That wasn’t just unpleasant, that was invasive! It lasted only a few minutes, but the thoughts it triggered stayed with me much longer. It was a reminder of a bigger, more permanent problem.
From deforestation to polluted oceans, from second-hand smoke harming us and our children to microplastics entering our food, cigarettes create a chain of damage that continues long after the cigarette is gone.
Cities have already started to act, but real change depends on all of us rethinking what we tolerate in our shared spaces, and what kind of world we want to leave behind.
A single cigarette may vanish in smoke within minutes. Its impact can linger for a lifetime.