A question for smokers: Why do so many of you seem to think it’s fine to throw cigarette butts out the car window or on the street? Granted, I find smoking in general to be disgusting, but I’ve always been curious about this one behavior. I’ve seen many people who probably would never dream of throwing a candy wrapper out the window or just tossing it as they walked down the street, but they just automatically do it with cigarettes.
Not just a criticism here. Seriously, what’s the thinking behind this?
If you think they’re just biodegradable paper, take a look at any public street corner. And I’m sure plenty of smokers will claim they never do that, but you can’t deny that an awful lot do.
– Greg
Why do so many of you seem to think it’s fine to throw cigarette butts out the car window or on the street?
And on beaches, and on lawns, and in parks, and in lakes, and… yuck! Yes, there should be more public ashtrays around, but in their absence I completely agree that it’s the smoker’s responsibility not to litter cigarette ends, just as it’s my responsibility not to litter used tissues or candy wrappers when I can’t find a trash barrel. Perhaps someone could come up with a cigarette case that has a compartment for extinguished butts in it. Perhaps someone already has.
I’d be much less irritated about sharing public spaces with smokers if they’d just keep their damn butts to themselves, as it were.
Smokers must also be made aware that cigarette butts on the ground are more than just a nuisance. They are a public health menace for small children. When I lived in Montreal, I had friends who could not let their small child run around in the public parks without them constantly right at the child’s side because cigarette butts were so prevalent and this kid had a habit of picking them up and putting them in his mouth!
jshore wrote:
What a nice neighborhood you lived in. In my neighborhood, we had broken glass.
People with children shojuld be made aware that children create a terrible mess that someone has to clean up. They drop candy that attracts insects and careless parents leave diry diapers laying around. I’d rather see a cigarette butt laying on the ground that sticky ice cream wrappers. You can always tell a neighborhood with a lot of children, its a pig pen.
May I re-iterate: