STOWELINK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MINISTRY OF HEALTH KENYA CELEBRATE THE WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY WITH AN INSIGHTFUL DIGITAL CAMPAIGN 31-5-22

Stowelink was privileged to have partnered with the Ministry Of Health, The Department of NCDs and the Kenyan FCTC to do an online digital campaign on tobacco and its harmful effects on the environment. Stowelink also had its volunteers in the ground to help the ministry commemorate the world no tobacco day which was graced by the health PS Mochache and televised on KTN News. This engagement comes at a crucial time when tobacco use continues to be the leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases in the region.

So, what is the link between tobacco and the environment and what progress has the ministry of health in Kenya made towards tobacco control?

• Fact 1: Each year, 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are disposed of. A generous estimate is that half of them end up in landfills – the other half ends up in soil, lakes, oceans, and forests. Cigarette butts are theoretically biodegradable (they are made of cellulose acetate) but it takes them just under 2 years to completely vanish (which is also debatable as nothing vanishes completely) – and that is under perfect conditions.
• Fact 2: 600 million trees are chopped down every year by the tobacco industry. Keep in mind that for every 15 packs of cigarettes a smoker smokes, one tree had to die.
• Fact 3: US tobacco industry produces 16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in one year – global tobacco production quadruples that amount. For comparison, one car produces 4 million times less. Shutting down the tobacco industry equates to taking 16 million cars off the streets every single year.
• Fact 4: Tobacco manufacturers use four miles of paper every hour to wrap and package cigarettes and other products – making the entire industry a sizeable contributor to deforestation although it already is one to begin with.

Find out more on our twitter thread on this link: https://twitter.com/stowelink_inc/status/1531540170184482816?s=20&t=rCKx0eAmdCWEmN2TsEsuSA