Carbon footprint tracing and inequality checking for tobacco’s life cycle

China is the world ’ s largest tobacco producer and consumer. The industry generates considerable carbon emissions and economic benefits, yet inequalities across regions and beneficiaries have rarely been jointly examined. Using provincial-level data from tobacco-producing regions in mainland China for 2000 and 2020, this study estimated carbon emissions from tobacco cultivation, curing, cigarette production, smoking, and cigarette-butt disposal using an activity-based emission-factor method. It compared the economic benefits received by tobacco farmers, tobacco enterprises, local governments, and the central government, and constructed a regional inequality index from the ratio of standardised economic benefits to standardised carbon emissions. From 2000 to 2020, the tobacco cultivation area declined from 143 × 10 4 ha to 101 × 10 4 ha, while tobacco leaf production decreased from 254 × 10 4 t to 213 × 10 4 t. Substantial differences were observed among provinces. Yunnan recorded the highest overall production levels, while Guizhou, Hunan, Henan, Sichuan, and Fujian also showed high values across the three production indicators. Total carbon emissions from the assessed stages increased from 478 × 10 4 t C in 2000 to 553 × 10 4 t C in 2020, with tobacco curing making the dominant contribution. High emissions were concentrated in provinces with extensive tobacco cultivation and production. The accounted economic profits increased sixfold from 2000 to 2020. The central government received the largest share of benefits and tobacco farmers the smallest; by 2020, the economic benefits accruing to local governments and tobacco enterprises had become comparable. The dispersion of regional index values decreased from 2000 to 2020. Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang consistently recorded relatively high index values. In contrast, Heilongjiang and Liaoning recorded the lowest index values in 2000, while Chongqing, Liaoning, and Hebei recorded the lowest values in 2020. These findings support clean-energy substitution in tobacco curing, fiscal and technical compensation for provinces bearing high carbon burdens but receiving relatively low economic benefits, and demand-side tobacco-control measures such as higher tobacco taxes and stricter enforcement of smoke-free policies.