Climate Change, Microplastics & Fires- the EcoToll of Tobacco with the Sierra Club

Tobacco control and climate advocacy collide in today’s episode, just as we are all getting ready to head into summer fun in the Great Outdoors! Sadly, the tobacco industry is spoiling our summer fun in many ways. Today I am joined by Amanda Simpson , who is a policy analyst with the Environmental Justice in Tobacco Control Project of the Sierra Club to help us understand the issue.  From causing wildfires to worsening climate change to microplastics in our waters, on today’s episode you will learn what is happening and what you can do! 

To Do:

• Learn more by going to the Sierra Clubs StopToxicTobaccoWaste.org . If you go to their policy tabs page, you can see a host of ideas on how to decrease the toll of tobacco pollution in your area

• With Wildfire season coming, consider actions on e-cig safety. For example, ensure devices sold in your area  meet Underwriter Laboratories (UL) Standard 8139 at a minimum, which promotes lithium-ion battery safety. Ensure that your state HAS a tobacco retail license program, and make sure it includes safe disposal of e-cigarettes

• Advocate for a ban on disposable electronic inhalation systems.Reuse don’t dispose.

• Advocate for a ban on selling cigarettes with cigarette butts. They are a plastic that don’t make cigarettes safer for the user, and they increase microplastics likely in the body of the smoker and certainly in our environment. 

• Consider a donation to the Sierra Club, to support the work they do in helping the environment in all ways, including keeping it free from tobacco waste.

Bird image from Sierra Club Environmental Justice in Tobacco Control Project

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