India: Tobacco waste comes mostly from oral products

By considering the different categories of tobacco waste and cross-referencing them with consumption data, a study attempted to assess the weight of tobacco product waste in India. While the share of waste due to oral tobacco products is clearly highlighted, the total weight of this waste seems to be underestimated.

The heavy health toll attributable to smoking is well known, its environmental consequences are only just beginning to be taken into account. The work and debates already underway on the issue of filters Cigarette butts are being banned, but the management of cigarette butts is far from being the only aspect of waste generated by tobacco products.

With data lacking on tobacco waste in low- and middle-income countries, a team of Indian researchers set out to assess it at the national level, distinguishing between regions, product types and waste types.

Clear predominance of waste from oral tobacco products

The researchers' study is based on samples of tobacco products purchased in 17 of India's 33 states between January and April 2022.[1]. 222 brands of the most sold tobacco products were purchased, including 70 cigarettes, 94 bidis and 58 oral tobacco products (gutka). The different components of these products were weighed under strict conditions (digital scale, glass protection chamber, use of gloves and masks, photographs). The categories of elements distinguished were paper, packaging plastics (including cellophane[2]), aluminum and filter (3 bidi brands out of 94 also included them). The total weight of the products was also recorded.

These measurement data were then cross-referenced with tobacco product consumption data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2016–2017. They made it possible to assess the quantities of waste emitted by product and element categories, as well as by region. Two-thirds of the waste taken into account came from oral tobacco products (115,000 tonnes), followed by cigarettes (41,000 tonnes) and bidis (14,000 tonnes). 52.5 % of the waste consisted of paper, 43.2 % of plastics, 3.6 % of aluminium and 0.8 % of filters.[3]In total, it is estimated that 170,000 tonnes of tobacco product waste are dumped each year in India, most of it on the ground.

Data probably lower than reality

According to the researchers, the data from this study, although substantial, remain below reality. The gutka consumption data are in fact very fragmentary and only a minimum consumption (one pack/day) was taken into account, whereas it could be multiplied by three or four. The weight of cigarette filters is also questionable: here it was noted on average at 0.0142 g per unit, compared to 0.17 g in a reference study.[4] and 0.2669 g in a Saudi study. The researchers conclude that these differences may be due to different manufacturing standards in different countries. They also point out that the main waste identified is paper. This is in principle biodegradable, but its combination with plastic elements limits its biodegradability. Although probably underestimated, the data from this study should nevertheless provide arguments to the government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the issue of tobacco product waste in low- and middle-income countries.

India is the second largest consumer country in the world with 270 million tobacco users, or 29 per cent of adults. oral tobacco products are in the majority and are responsible for 230,000 deaths, the impact of their consumption of these products on the mouth cancers having been demonstrated in particular.

The extent of the health damage attributable to all tobacco products is major; the country deplores 1.35 million deaths due to tobacco each year.[5] to which are added the millions of sick people.

The weight of the environmental consequences of these products is only just beginning to be revealed.

To learn more about the environmental consequences of tobacco products, consult our information sheet.

Keywords: India, waste, oral tobacco products, environment.

M.F.

[1] Jain YK, Bhardwaj P, Joshi NK, et al. Estimating the weight of consumed tobacco product waste in various Indian states: a novel method to assess the potential burden of tobacco product waste. Tobacco Control, Published Online First: 21 September 2023. doi: 10.1136/tc-2023-058118

[2] The cellophane in cigarette packets is in principle biodegradable, but the many chemicals added to it, including carbon disulfide, make these decomposed elements particularly toxic, so the researchers in this study considered them to be plastics. The filters are made of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that has, however, been distinguished from packaging plastics.

[3] For cigarettes alone, the waste consisted on average of 77 % of paper, 15 % of aluminum, 5 % of plastic and 3 % of filter.

[4] Novotny TE, Slaughter E. Tobacco product waste: an environmental approach to reduce tobacco consumption. Curr Environ Health Rpt 2014;1:208–16.

[5] India/Health topics/Tobacco, WHO, accessed September 28, 2023.