From Ecopedia

Overview

Tobacco smoking refers to the action of igniting tobacco in the form of a cigarette, smoke pipe, cigar, hookah, or other means, and inhaling the smoke that is emitted from the burning tobacco. Cigarettes are the most common device used to smoke tobacco, with 5.5 trillion cigarettes smoked annually around the world. This vast amount of smoke produces air pollution, water pollution, sever health threats, and premature aging.

The following is a list of known cancer-causing carcinogens is found in tobacco smoke:

• Acetaldehyde
• Acrylonitrile
• 4-Aminobiphenyl
• o-Anisidine Hydrochloride
• Arsenic
• Benzene
• Beryllium
• 1,3-Butadiene
• Cadmium
• 1,1-Dimethylhydrazine
• Ethylene oxide
• Formaldehyde
• Furan
• Heterocyclic amines
• Hydrazine
• Isoprene
• Lead
• 2-Naphthylamine
• Nitromethane
• N-Nitrosodi-n-Butylamine
• N-Nitrosodiethanolamine
• N-Nitrosodiethylamine
• N-Nitrosodimethylamine
• N-Nitrosodi-n-Propylamine
• 4-(N-Nitrosomethylamino)-1-(3-Pyridyl)-1-Butanone
• N-Nitrosonornicotine
• N-Nitrosopiperidine
• N-Nitrosopyrrolidine
• N-Nitrososarcosine
• Polonium-210
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
• o-Toluidine
• Vinyl chloride

Affects on the Environment

Tobacco smoke poses extremely large threats to both the health of living organisms and the environment itself.

Air Pollution

While the list above only contains the number of carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, there actually over 4000 chemicals found in cigarettes which are inhaled into the respiratory system and exhaled into the environment, in turn causing vast amounts of air pollution.

Land and Water pollution

Since tobacco is commonly smoked through portable devices such as cigarettes and cigars, the paper or filters used for these products are commonly contaminated by the enormous amounts of toxic chemicals found in cigarette smoke. Annually, over 4.5 trillion contaminated cigarette butts and cigar wrappers are littered every year. When these smoke-contaminated items are not disposed of properly, they can be extremely damaging to the soil in which they decompose and also to the oceans and living organisms that they come in contact with.

Damage to life

The carcinogens found in tobacco smoke are extremely damaging to the health, and are known to cause cancer, disease, and several other health issues. In fact, each round of smoking tobacco is said to shorten one’s life by 11 minutes. Additionally, nearly 50% of tobacco smokers die on average, 14 years earlier than normal.

References

http://smoking.ygoy.com/smoking-and-the-environment/ http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080421055144AAtNlPr http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette#cite_ref-31