Do you know what the #1 item found on beaches and roadways is?
No, it’s not plastic straws…..it’s cigarette butts. (1)
Smokers around the world buy roughly 6.5 trillion cigarettes each year. That’s 18 billion every day. (2)
In fact, close to 5 trillion cigarettes are discarded each year into the environment, making them the most littered item on Earth.
It’s not just little pieces of paper and cotton
like the Big Tobacco companies want you to believe.
Cigarette filters, are made of cellulose acetate along with thousands of other chemical ingredients including arsenic, lead, nicotine and ethyl phenol; all of which leak into the environment. Just 1 butt can kill a small animal and continue to leach toxic chemicals into the water for as long as 10 years.
Another global concern and impact is the deforestation that is happening due to billions of trees being cut down every year to make cigarettes and their packaging.
(1) Tobacco Free CA
(2) National Geographic
I’m passionately committed to reducing plastic waste by raising awareness about our global crisis.
Ready to take action and be a part of the solution:
Quit Smoking
Roll your own
Recycle e-cigs
Share the facts on your social channels
Take the Pledge
Get involved in local beach / park clean ups
It’s not litter, it’s toxic waste.
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