The many, many smokers who behave this way are not really inconsiderate jerks. They are philosophers, with a simple mantra:
“The world is my ashtray.”
As a former smoker, I have to say that it isn’t about smokers - it is about people thinking they can do whatever they want. I have met some very considerate smokers who wouldn’t dream of disposing of their butts like that, and I have met some very rude non-smokers who litter at will.
I was waiting in the car at a gas station/convenience store the other day while my boyfriend was inside paying when a young girl, maybe 6 or 7 years old, came out with an ice cream bar. She looked right at me as she took the wrapper off the ice cream and dropped it on the ground - despite trash cans by the doors of the store and a dumpster next to the stairs leading to the apartment building next door she walked towards. I asked if she was going to pick that up and she ran off. :mad:
In many cases this is probably true.
But there still seems to be a not insignificant number of smokers who don’t throw other types of rubbish on the ground, but who won’t hesitate to drop a cigarette butt wherever they feel like.
Nolo contendere. As a former smoker, I must admit to flicking butts out of my vehicle window to avoid stanking up the interior. No valid defense exists, so all I can offer is an apology for being a thoughtless ass.
As a current smoker, I use the ashtray in my car. I typically keep an empty grocery store bag in the car so I can empty it into that when it gets full. If it gets full and I’ve forgotten the bag, I’ll scoop a few out and stick them into an empty cigarette pack to make some space. I just can’t bring myself to toss one out the window since (back when I was a teenage smoker) one blew back in the window and I scraped the wheel of the car on the inside of the tunnel I was driving through.
Even when walking around, I can’t toss one on the ground. I’ll roll the burning part off, step on it (even if it’s on concrete. It’s summer and people are wearing flipflops and sandals, and that part can burn someone), then carry the butt itself to the next trashcan I see.
To me, there’s no excuse for tossing one on the ground or out the car window. So what if the car stinks. I’m already smoking in it.