<i>Tobacco and environmental hazards </i>
Since tobacco requires large quantities of water, fields are mostly located near water bodies. Since large amounts of pesticides are used on the tobacco plant, the chemical residue flows back to the water bodies when the fields are irrigated. Needless to mention, the contamination spreads when this water is used for domestic purpose. Not only pesticides, but huge amounts of fertilizers are also required during the cultivation of tobacco. Since tobacco rapidly depletes the soil of its nutrients, the soil has to be replenished over time using expensive chemical fertilizers. A survey revealed that on an average 300 kg or more of chemical fertilizers such as urea, triple super phosphate and zinc are used for cultivating an acre of tobacco. In addition to fertilizer costs, the harm tobacco cultivation does to soil fertility is a further cost of tobacco cultivation. For flue-cured tobacco, large rooms or barns are constructed and these are kept at a constant temperature for about 72 hours till the leaves acquire the characteristic tobacco taste, aroma and colour. In Kushtia and Chittagong Hill Tracts, where flue-cured tobacco is more popular, wood is primarily used for curing. About six tons of wood is required to cure the tobacco grown on just one acre of land. Huge areas of forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region have disappeared over the past few years, and a substantial portion has been tobacco-related deforestation (see table 2). About 30 percent of the total cost of tobacco production is for curing the leaves. In the hilly region, hills are also being cut to create flat land for growing tobacco.
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