Did you know: Today is 'World No Tobacco Day'

Phase one of the cycle is growing tobacco, which "degrades soil, threatens biodiversity, and uses pesticides and fertilizers, exposing farm workers to hazardous chemicals."

According to the CDC, 4.3 million hectares of land were used to grow tobacco in 2012. China, Brazil, and India are the highest producers of tobacco.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information has reported on the deforestation for tobacco growing, citing "many serious environmental consequences, including loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and degradation, water pollution, and increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide."

Phase two, tobacco curing, causes a loss of a combined 211,000 hectares from deforestation, according to the CDC. "An estimated 11.4 million metric tons, (which converts to 25,132,697,889 pounds) of wood are burned to cure tobacco every year."

Phase three is tobacco manufacturing, which produces environmental harm that ranges from water and energy consumption to hazardous waste and greenhouse gasses. The estimated emissions produced through the manufacturing process, said the CDC, is equal to roughly three million transatlantic flights—a year. 

Phase four is transportation. Commercial transport of the product adds to the global load of air pollution, increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the total number of cigarettes reported sold by the major manufacturers was 202.9 billion units in 2019. The industry did see a decrease by 14.0 billion units (6.5 percent) from 2018.

The one people think of is phase five: smoking. Tobacco smoke affects smokers, people around them, and the environment. "In a single year, cigarette smoke contributes thousands of metric tons of cancer-causing chemicals, other toxins, and greenhouse gasses globally," according to the CDC.

Additional information about health impacts of tobacco smoking are available in CDC fact sheets. Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure. This is about one in five deaths annually, or 1,300 deaths every day.

Phase six is tobacco disposal. Disposing tobacco and cigarette waste—reportedly the largest single type of litter—contributes to litter that then leaches toxic chemicals into the environment. The CDC reported that tobacco product packaging creates about 2 million tons of waste each year.

The World Health Organization contributed to this report.