Green Isn't Good Enough

This article in the environmentally friendly Plenty magazine discusses the ongoing popularity of the Natural American Spirit cigarettes and “natural” tobacco farming. Even though the tobacco is pesticide free, the net result is not that different than administering an alcohol swab prior to a lethal injection. It’s still tobacco; it still has nicotine; it still has tar, carcinogens and carbon monoxide. Oh yeah, and it is ultimately owned by Reynolds American, Inc., the second largest tobacco manufacturer in the U.S.

Everyone is jumping on the sustainability bandwagon, even tobacco companies. The article is good to remind people that much environmental destruction and social injustice are a direct result of tobacco farming. By next year, 87% of tobacco will be grown in developing countries. Despite “good guy” public relations efforts by the tobacco companies (including building schools in developing nations), the overall harm done to the world as a whole far outweighs any purported benefit.

I encourage students to think critically about the full scope of tobacco industry practices and to question the legitimacy of “natural” tobacco.

http://www.plentymag.com/features/2008/12/the_green_cigarette.php

-posted by Tad Spencer