Tobacco companies market heated tobacco products (HTP) with arguments such as harm reduction. But this does not mean the harm caused by the production chain. The mining required for the raw materials leads to major social and environmental damage, according to an article on the STOPS network website.
PODER, a Mexico-based non-profit organization working for corporate responsibility in Latin America, has investigated the social and environmental harms of HTP production. The results have been published in the article The Business of Addiction: Supply Chain Analysis of Heated Tobacco Products, IQOS.
Manufacturing often includes heating elements, semiconductors, electronic circuits and batteries. Some of the many problematic raw materials required include tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold, which are conflict minerals, often mined illegally in nations with limited state control. Sales have funded warfare in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is a major producer of cobalt, another problematic HTP ingredient.
Lithium mining, crucial for alternative energy production, is contributing to water crises in countries like Bolivia, where the mining disrupts food production, livestock farming and tourism. The operation also impacts air and soil.
Platinum group metals are mostly found in South Africa, where explosives used in mining pollute streams, wells and other resources in a country already suffering from water shortages.
