Tobacco.org

Hold on To Your Butt! 

Cigarette butts are the most littered item in The United States and the world. This type of litter is not just found in streets and urban settings; the number of cigarette butts found on beaches can be overwhelming--typically accounting for nearly one in every five items collected during a beach cleanup. To make matters worse, butts are often cast onto the sidewalk and streets, and then end up in drains, which flow to streams, rivers, bays, lagoons and ultimately the ocean.

Hold Onto Your Butt Awareness Day will involve activists, volunteers, and friends of the environment gathering on San Diego's busiest traffic intersections as people arrive at the beach. There, Surfrider activists will hold signs, pass out personal ashtrays, stickers and graphically demonstrate to motorists the problem we're so concerned about. We will encourage motorists and beachgoers to dispose of cigarettes safely, and explain that cigarette butts thrown on the ground can eventually end up in the ocean and affect marine life, including surfers and swimmers. . . .

Our Chapter, along with American Lung Association, the American Heart Association and other organizations fighting cigarette litter, held a press conference with the Californian Highway Patrol (CHP) and San Diego Fire Department to announce that the CHP is cracking down on smokers who throw their butts out the car window while driving. The CHP joined our coalition efforts by setting up a hotline number that people can call if they see cigarette butts being tossed onto our streets and highways. After the phone call is received, the CHP will send a warning letter to the alleged violator. The hotline number, 1-877-211-BUTT, has already been successful! Our Chapter has been working on our Hold On To Your Butt campaign for years and we are delighted to be part of such a broad-based coalition. . . .

DID YOU KNOW? Cigarette butts are the most littered item in The United States and the world. . . .

* 18% of all litter dropped to the ground is washed into streams, rivers, lakes and the ocean by storm water runoff. Cigarette butts, are little and lightweight and are the first to get carried away into our waterways.0

* Studies indicate that since we have enacted indoor smoking bans, more cigarette butts are being tossed directly into the environment. Unfortunately, this means that ecosystems have a higher chance of being affected by cigarette butts. Biologists have found butts in the stomachs of young birds, sea turtles and other marine creatures.

* Cigarette butts can cause other environmental problems, such as fires. . . .

Ultimately, the Surfrider Foundation is calling for better enforcement of laws against cigarette butt littering; additional taxes on tobacco products specifically earmarked for clean-up efforts; more effort on the part of tobacco companies to improve the biodegradability of filters, reduce packaging waste and educate consumers about the impacts of tobacco waste on the environment; and more local involvement from governments and businesses to reduce cigarette littering by supplying ashtrays and other "disposal mechanisms" at building entrances.

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