Plastic straw ban? Cigarette butts are the single greatest source of ocean trash
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Environmentalists have taken aim at the targets systematically, seeking to eliminate or rein in big sources of ocean pollution — first plastic bags, then eating utensils and, most recently, drinking straws. More than a dozen coastal cities prohibited plastic straws this year. Many more are pondering bans, along with the states of California and Hawaii.
Yet the No. 1 man-made contaminant in the world’s oceans is the small but ubiquitous cigarette butt — and it has mostly avoided regulation. That soon could change, if a group of committed activists has its way.
A leading tobacco industry academic, a California lawmaker and a worldwide surfing organization are among those arguing cigarette filters should be banned. The nascent campaign hopes to be bolstered by linking activists focused on human health with those focused on the environment.
“It’s pretty clear there is no health benefit from filters. They are just a marketing tool. And they make it easier for people to smoke,” said Thomas Novotny, a professor of public health at San Diego State University. “It’s also a major contaminant, with all that plastic waste. It seems like a no-brainer to me that we can’t continue to allow this.”
A California assemblyman proposed a ban on cigarettes with filters, but couldn’t get the proposal out of committee. A New York state senator has written legislation to create a rebate for butts returned to redemption centers, though that idea also stalled. San Francisco has made the biggest inroad — a 60-cent per pack fee to raise roughly $3 million a year to help defray the cost of cleaning up discarded cigarette filters.
'THE MOST LITTERED ITEM IN THE WORLD'
Cigarette butts have now also fallen into the sights of one of the nation’s biggest anti-smoking organizations, the Truth initiative. The organization uses funds from a legal settlement between state attorneys general and tobacco companies to deliver tough messages against smoking. The group last week used the nationally televised Video Music Awards to launch a new campaign against cigarette butts. As in a couple of previous ads delivered via social media, the organization is going after “the most littered item in the world.”
It’s no wonder that cigarette butts have drawn attention. The vast majority of the 5.6 trillion cigarettes manufactured worldwide each year come with filters made of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that can take a decade or more to decompose. As many as two-thirds of those filters are dumped irresponsibly each year, according to Novotny, who founded the Cigarette Butt Pollution Project .
The Ocean Conservancy has sponsored a beach cleanup every year since 1986. For 32 consecutive years, cigarette butts have been the single most collected item on the world’s beaches, with a total of more than 60 million collected over that time. That amounts to about one-third of all collected items and more than plastic wrappers, containers, bottle caps, eating utensils and bottles, combined.
People sometimes dump that trash directly on to beaches but, more often, it washes into the oceans from countless storm drains, streams and rivers around the world. The waste often disintegrates into microplastics easily consumed by wildlife. Researchers have found the detritus in some 70 percent of seabirds and 30 percent of sea turtles.
Those discarded filters usually contain synthetic fibers and hundreds of chemicals used to treat tobacco, said Novotny, who is pursuing further research into what kinds of cigarette waste leech into the soil, streams, rivers and oceans.
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Just when we think we have heard about how badly we have polluted our oceans, we find out the worst was yet to come.... and it's absolute poison.
Reminds me of the song Synchronicity II, where Sting imagins Loch Ness getting so polluted that Nessy leaves it to find a new tasty treat... People!
Many miles away there's a shadow on the door
Of a cottage on the shore
Of a dark Scottish lake
When I was in the Army, a very long time ago, it was unthinkable to toss a cigarette but on the ground... within the confines of an Army base.
We would carefully pinch the stub between the filter and the burn, until we ejected all the tobacco. Then we slipped the butt into a back pocket, to be emptied into a trash can later.
Of course... off-base... soldiers were as polluter as any...
But were you good off base?
I used to smoke and so did my dad. I don't ever recall throwing a butt into the ocean, but I am sure they get there by some other means.
I really do not remember.
When I got back from 'Nam, I went on a long motorcycle ride... and I really do not remember if I was a good boy or not.
By the time I settled in Eastern France a couple years later, the good habits were lost...
Well that is very honest.
I was nearly fifty when I finally quit smoking. Cold turkey, without preparation. One day I smoked the last of the pack and said to myself, "This is as good a moment as any!"
It felt like my lungs were collapsing for the next few months, and I felt the occasional craving for many years...
I was at a couple of packs per day of filterless Gitanes, French black-tobacco cigarettes.
Bob,
My dad did the same thing.. just gave up smoking one day soon after his 50th birthday. Now I am going to give you something to be aware of. People who have smoked into their 50's run a much higher rate of developing bladder cancer. My dad is 84 and he just got dxed with it. Please go for annual checkups that include a cytology of your urine or if you see blood don't dismiss it.
Perrie,
I get blood work pretty regularly, for my heart, so I think any problems would be spotted. As a matter of fact, I have an appointment with the cardio in a few weeks, with full blood work in hand.
Bob,
The only way to spot bladder cancer is through urine or cystoscopy. No blood test will show it. Both my parents have it, so I know this as a fact.
Dear Friend Badfish: Seems we have the same Dentist.
Enoch, Brushing and Flossing.
Perrie,
OK. I'll talk to my generalist next time.
When I smoked I did that as well. It stunk to high heaven though if ya didn't get rid of them soon. Nasty damn habit !!
Someday we are going to drown in our own trash.
Very True! We have enough brains to make this stuff but not enough to figure out how get rid of it. We are own worst enemies.
Dear Friends: We need to do a much better job of being responsible stewards of our environment.
This is where we live, after all.
Peace and Abundant Blessings In A Pollution Free World.
Enoch.
I smoke and don't like watching folks flick their butts on the street out of laziness. I buy accessory ash trays to put in my cars, since they don't come with one, or a lighter anymore. My grossness should stay with me.
Very well done IIM. You should try to stop smoking for your sake.. but of course I didn't say that....
I know, but I stay reclusive in my habit. Smoke outside only, make sure I'm down wind of others when I do, trash my own butts and definitely don't smoke in the house. Besides, I like the outside, so I'm a happy camper when it's time for a Cig..
I know, I know.
I only live once though. Twice if lucky....so they say.
I agree with everyone's comments above this one. Now for a true story about:
A couple of weeks ago, we went to a wedding. Aside from the fact that it was held in a barn that wasn't air-conditioned, the grounds were muddy, and it was obscenely humid, we had a pretty good time. Except for one thing. All of the eating utensils were made of flimsy eco-friendly wood.
Have you ever tried to cut 1/2" slices of roast pork or prime rib with little wooden knives that aren't serrated? Everyone at our table broke their knives and forks, so someone went to get us "extras". Some of us used at least 3 of each in order to eat our food. All 200 of the guests experienced the same dilemma.
A lot of wood immediately became useless and was thrown in the trash that day (cocktail hour, dinner, dessert). How many trees might that have been?
Japser,
Your post freaked me out. My daughter wants a barn wedding (she is not engaged yet but has a steady boyfriend of 4 years), and I laughed at her. Now I am hearing this from you and I am horrified. I am sending her the link to your comment.
And yes no one should have to try and eat from wooden utensils. Who likes splinters in the mouth? LOL!
Old way to quit smoking, if one is serious;
Use a large pickle jar with a few inches of water inside to collect your butts.
After a week or so, taking the lid off to deposit any more butts should be so offensive to your nose, that you will at least stop the pickle jar experiment.
Now take into consideration that
A - that is whats going on inside your lungs/body
B - that's what non smokers smell when they are around you.
( btw, loved Camels, in the day, and quit 32 years ago but I can still recall the taste ... )
So all of that brown shit stuck in the filter that would have been in my lungs is just a color change occurring in the plastic that will dissolve in a decade or so; unlike those plastic water bottles people are sending to landfills every day??? Be still my hypocritical heart...
This article is not about the filters, although it does bring it up, but the actual nicotine from the ends of what we smoke.
Besides, there is no good pollution, whether it's in landfills or in the ocean or in your lungs.
But here is something to read about filters:
Sure did. I bet you were not surprised. I bet he also didn't eat well and If he rode a motorcycle didn't wear a helmet either.