As if you needed another reson to quit...

Tobacco, as a crop, is responsible for damage to ancient forests, soil depletion and pollution from pesticides and fertilisers. It is in some of the world's poorest countries that these effects are felt. Over four-fifths of the global tobacco crop is grown in the developing world. Recent decades have seen a shift by tobacco companies to sourcing tobacco from these countries, where there is cheap labour and easy access to natural resources.





Much effort is put into encouraging farmers to grow tobacco and it is grown in more than 100, mostly developing, countries world-wide. China is the world's largest producer followed by the USA, India, Brazil and Turkey and these five countries produce nearly two-thirds of global output.

Environmental impact:

Pesticides
Soil fertility
Deforestation
Global Warming
Manufacturing
Litter


Pesticides
Huge amounts of fertiliser, herbicide and pesticides are used in the growing of tobacco as it is a sensitive plant prone to many diseases and up to sixteen applications may be needed during a three-month growing period.

Pesticides commonly used include DDT and other highly toxic substances already phased out in Britain. In 1997, over 5.5 million pounds of methyl bromide, an ozone-depleting chemical were applied to tobacco fields worldwide to fumigate the soil prior to planting tobacco seedlings. The effects of these chemicals are generally not monitored but it is known that they leach into the soil and find their way into streams, rivers, and food chains.

In addition, these substances may indirectly cause the genetic selection of pesticide-resistant mosquitoes or flies, making the control of diseases such as malaria much more difficult.

Soil fertility
Tobacco takes up nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from the soil faster than other crops and can leave it barren and undernourished after production.

One of the reasons for this high uptake of soil nutrients is the practice of topping the plants to stimulate leaf growth and ensure a higher nicotine content. Tobacco is particularly potassium-hungry, absorbing up to six times as much as other crops and in areas where it is grown monoculturaly (eg. Zimbabwe, Malawi ) the soil is then regarded as unsuitable for other crops. After each crop of tobacco is produced, a new site must be found. This increases the amount of trees destroyed to make way for more tobacco crops to be produced.

The growing of tobacco means that less land is available for food crops. While some food is grown between crops of tobacco, it has been estimated that 10 to 20 million people could be fed by food crops grown instead of tobacco.

Many farmers in developing countries can earn ten times more by growing and exporting tobacco than they do by growing crops to support their populations.

Deforestation
After harvesting, tobacco is cured to preserve it for storage, transport and processing. Virginia tobacco, the type found in common cigarette brands, is "flue-cured": in other words, dried by passing air heated by the controlled burning of wood, coal or oil through the harvested leaves, using flues or pipes.

In many developing countries trees are cut down to provide fuel for the curing process and for the construction of the curing barns. An estimated 200,000 ha of woodlands are removed by tobacco farming each year. Deforestation occurs mainly in developing countries amounting to 1.5% of global net losses of forest cover or 4.6% of total national deforestation.

In Malawi, which is heavily dependent on tobacco as an export crop, more than 35,000 tonnes of tobacco leaves are cured annually. About 12 cubic metres of wood are needed for every tonne of tobacco.

The level of damage to ancient forests from curing varies widely depending on country. China, for instance, uses mostly coal; however in Africa, around 5% of all deforestation is caused by tobacco. In Malawi, where the ancient dry forests of the miombo highlands are particularly under threat, tobacco accounts for 20% of deforestation. Once forest is cleared, soil erosion and flooding can result, thus damaging nearby agricultural land.

Faced with dwindling natural sources of wood, the tobacco industry has attempted to address the problem by encouraging farmers to plant their own trees for use as curing fuel. However, this presents difficulties for farmers on smallholdings, who need their non-tobacco growing land for food production and cannot afford to wait at least five years for trees to grow. In any case, replacing the biodiversity of ancient forests with largely monoculture plantations of non-indigenous species like eucalyptus, which draws heavily on underground water, is no solution to deforestation. Some farmers are reluctant to use these trees as fuel, preferring instead to sell their trees as building poles while continuing to collect wood from what remains of the natural forest.

It takes up to one acre of forest to cure (dry) an acre of tobacco. That's approximately one tree felled per fortnight to maintain the habit of an average smoker.

Global Warming
Smoking also contributes to global warming and climate change. The smoke emitted from cigarettes contain methane and carbon monoxide, 2 gases associated with the greenhouse effect. Each year, it is estimated, smoking produces:

2.6 billion kg of CO2
5.2 billion kg of methane
Manufacturing
Cigarette and cigar making produces large quantities of waste in the form of tobacco slurries, solvents, oils and greases, paper, wood, plastics, packaging materials and airborne pollution - as well as toxic chemical waste.

In the United States, the tobacco industry ranks 18th among all industries in the production of chemical waste.
In 1995, the global tobacco industry produced an estimated 2,262 million kilogrammes of manufacturing waste and,
an estimated 209 million kilogrammes of chemical waste.
Among the many waste products of the tobacco industry which are considered toxic by the USA's Environmental Protection Agency, is nicotine, from the production of low-nicotine cigarettes. Around 300 million kilogrammes of nicotine waste are produced annually by the global tobacco industry.

Litter
Cigarette filters last in the environment for 18 months or more. Walk along any street in Britain and you will see discarded cigarette packets and butts. They generate a lot of litter. Everyday in the UK we dispose of approx 200 million butts and 20 million packets, many of which end up on the ground.

As part of its reclaim the streets campaign, The Daily Mirror found that cigarette ends, packets and matches were the most commonly found items of rubbish, with 122 tonnes of cigarette related rubbish being dropped every day across the UK.

In a survey conducted by Keep Britain Tidy in 2002, cigarette-related litter was found in 77 per cent of all locations across Britain, accounting for about 40% of items of litter on the UK's streets.

once again a chocker week, followed by a weekend of fun and love.

having been up on highmoor two days this week, once in the (not pouring) rain, but the coming on sideways rain, were it bashes against your face and you have to close your eyes, and a day pulling up vehicles doing roadside checks, it was fun.

Lee turned 33 on friday - old git, so we both took the day off with the intention of trying to go surfing, alas the weather did not think that was a good idea so after coissant and coffee with lots of presents we went to the gym to play, then soent the evening with his family having curry in stockport. I spent saturday shopping and lovingly preparing a meal fit for a king that my man would love.

We started with campagne, because it's always appropriate, specially when someone has a birthday, no matter how big or small, then, we had butternut squash and brocili soup, a no points specials and is fast become a sihgniture, this was with home made granary bread.
for main i had aubergine and halloumi gateau with pesto and lee had a rack of moorland organic lamb, on a bed of baby spinach with red currant and roasted garlic sauce. all of this with steamed baby carrot and asparagus and rosemary flavoured mashed potatoe. yes yes you read right ladies and gentleman, lamb, I cooked flesh for my husband to be. no greater love than this, than a vegatarian would cook meat for her man. it WAS his birthday, and it WAS local, it WAS organic, this little lamb had had a good life and it didn't die in vain. I'm not turning however, that was the only none herbivourous food group on the menu.

dessert was pot au chocolate, with berries on the side. then we sat and watched 'point break' on dvd, one of the trilogy of cops and robbers films i got him, whilst drinking wine and eating cheese purchased that morning from the cheese shop in didsbury, which was like going into a smelly toy shop for any one who likes cheese.

and then coffee with ameretti biscuits. all of this in the comfort of my living room, in jeans and t-shirts and using my new slate placemats.

today to contniue the fact the best way to celebrate anything is to eat we went to the lead station, for breakfast and the papers then a walk around the breech rd festival, yeah you missed it!

excellent.

Alright Alright!
I'm here, been busy.

In news, work is still crazy, I'm doing the work of a good few officers at the moment, streching but to tell the truth, sh1t. I also got my first conviction last week, 3 guilties, a total of 6 counts £2000 in fines and £2000 in costs and a sentencing in crown next month, harsh sentencing which is unusual for magistrates but an excellent result for us. So I kinda feel like I'm making a difference and having an effect which can't be bad. Had the week off in Lancaster - we've needed to stay there to be resident in the parish - some kind of anglican rules that i don't really undertsnad so we've been house sitting for my aunt and just chilling in her back garden... lovely, ate lost of good food and drank even more good wine.

Now I'm back and the weather's changed - rubbish! So I'm doing the usual gym, seeing friends and that. S'all good, I'm still alive.

WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!! WE ARE GOIN UP!!!

so this week i have mostly been drinking, i'd decided that i would have a week off work after the wedding, where there was a lot of drink. all these grand plans of surfing, diving, the zoo were totally ruined by the chuffing weather - typical i cried every morning, when i'm at work it's lovely, when i'm off work it's persisting it down... ruddy english weather. so yeah... the only really exciting things that happened were wedding related ooooh and i went to cheshire oaks and have gone down a jeans size - which was pretty damn brilliant.

now i'm back at work and due to people leaving and being signed off on long term illness my work load has trebled could d with another week off to tell the truth.

the restructure that everyone has been so patiently waiting for since like... forever has now been delayed AGAIN! Till October - living in this limbo is stupid. it's making me fed up. i have the next week off however so i'm hoping for some fresh vision for my job, which is hard to have without a clear idea of what the chuff you're gonna be doingfrom one week to the next - even if you are gonna be doing avnything, and without vision, people perish. can't say i'm all that keen on or fond of the idea of that to be honest.

i have mostly been...

reserveing my bloggong for the weekend - for that is what i have lived for the most recently, when the Monday to Friday 9 - 5 stuff is bust what can be done but to live for the weekend, for Friday evening that comes in a haze of the 3.30 office exodus, a quick whizz round the gym and a slonk in the sauna, then home for take out and wine, before you fall asleep on your fiances shoulder and find yourself being woken to do the right thing and GO TO BED - even if it is still only 9.30 ... on a FRIDAY... gah! When did i all of a sudden become sad?

And so saturday was filled with 'jobs', tidying, laundry, hunting for cheaper air fills (which i found, £2.50 for 12l.. 20p cheaper than the closest rival... hear me now i am smug), and making no points soup for the week ahead. i thought my phone may be fixed but i think it may still be playing silly buggers so please bare with me just a little while longer.

The week ahead hold many things for me, I meeting with high level managment of a company i have come to know and love in the past couple of months, a court hearing, which may or may not end up in my days off at the end of the week being filled with a grilling in the witness box.... i love my job i love my job i love my job i love my job. hopefully by wednesday i'll be done, i'll be helping rikes sort for the big day and i'll be getting my nails done etc. Saturday night - i made it to 10:30 before needing to sleep, better but still sad, for a 26 year old in the prime of life i real;y am pathetic.