Kyrgyzstan to celebrate World No Tobacco Day tomorrow

Bishkek, May 30, 2022. / Kabar /. Every year on May 31, the world celebrates World No Tobacco Day (WDT). Chinara Bekbasarova, head of the department of the Republican Center for Health Promotion and Mass Communication, told during a press conference at Kabar News Agency. According to the information, this year the World Health Organization (WHO) has defined the motto of the WDT “Tobacco is a threat to the environment!” not in vain, because tobacco is a threat not only to human health, but also to the environment. “The WDT Global Campaign aims to raise public awareness of the environmental impact of the entire tobacco cycle, from cultivation, production and distribution to the generation of toxic waste,” the employee explained during a press conference. The Ministry of Health noted that tobacco smoke contains more than 7 thousand toxic substances, including carcinogens, as well as greenhouse gases, chemicals from production are released into the atmosphere, polluting the air. The annual production of tobacco generates almost 84 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, thousands of tons of these chemicals enter the atmosphere, soil and water: cigarette butts are the most common type of waste. In addition, about 6 trillion cigarettes are produced annually in the world, while up to 680 million tons of cigarette butts end up in the environment. Cigarette butts are the most common toxic waste on our roads. In urban and coastal areas, bullheads make up 30-40% of the garbage and, contrary to popular belief, they do not decompose completely, the report said.