Discussing the Toll of E-Waste on Our Environment

In addition to causing direct bodily harm to children and adolescents, e-cigarettes have another deadly byproduct: environmental waste. This is due to electronic tobacco delivery devices relying on single-use plastic cartridges. This “e-waste” results in tons  of plastic pollution each year, piling up in landfills and littering the communities in which children live, learn, and play.

• In addition to harming individual health, tobacco use and industry practices negatively affect our environment, which disproportionately impacts medically vulnerable children.
• E-cigarettes rely on single-use plastic cartridges, which are unable to break down and introduces plastics and chemicals into waterways, soil, and to wildlife.
• Studies show that most users of these devices either were unaware of proper disposal practices for their e-waste, or struggled to find drop-offs where they could responsibly dispose of e-waste.
• The tobacco industry too often “greenwashes” their products, marketing their products as environmentally-friendly while devices and byproducts pile up in landfills, on the streets, and in our oceans.

The following social media messaging may be used to discuss the toll of e-waste on the environment:

• The tobacco industry’s many single-use devices and cartridges are devastating our environment, which disproportionately impacts marginalized communities.
• The tobacco industry directly impacts children’s health through harmful targeting and by contributing to climate change and environmental degradation.
• The tobacco industry misleadingly “greenwashes” their products, while vaping devices and byproducts pile up in landfills, on the streets, and in our oceans.