San Francisco, CA - They’re everywhere. On the streets, in gutters; even collecting in pools of water. Little orange and white rolls of paper and tobacco. Cigarettes. Once used, these unfriendly remains haunt our down towns and our backyards. But it’s time to say goodbye to the orange and white…in San Francisco at least. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee unanimously supported a measure that will help get rid of the stubs of used cigarettes.

The measure would increase the price of cigarettes by $0.20 per pack. The hike in price isn’t simply to discourage the purchase of cigarettes, but to help mitigate the costs of cigarette clean-up, relying on those who use cigarettes to help clean up.

Studies done by the city show that 25% of all litter found on sidewalks and in gutters is cigarette related. The $0.20 per pack of cigarettes would be reported and remitted on a regular basis by the retailers who collect the money at the counter. The funds would then be dispersed by the city  for use in litter collection.

“All litter creates unnecessary costs for the city and its taxpayers,” said Mayor Newsom. “Cigarette butts are a big part of the problem.” Newsom, who commended the Board for their support of the fee on Monday, June 29, included this fee as a line item in his June 1 budget and introduced this legislation to enact a regulatory fee to recover these costs from the consumers of cigarettes.

Not only are cigarette butts eyesores, but they are harmful to the environment as well. ”Cigarette butts contain benzene and toxic heavy metals that can poison the marine environment and leach into groundwater,” said Newsom.

According to Newsom, researchers at San Diego State University have found that chemicals found in just one filtered cigarette butt can kill all living fish in a one liter bucket of water.

While the fee looked strong in its first reading on Monday, it could still be stomped out by the complete Board next week at its decisive vote.

Photo Credit: fragglerawker_03 via flickr under Creative Commons License

Everyone knows the dark and dangerous side of the tobacco industry. The ill effects of cigarettes on the health of smokers, non-smokers, and the environment are well established. So is it fair or ethical for such a heinous and disgusting product to promote eco-friendly improvements to its packaging?

This is precisely what has happened recently with one of Canada’s leading cigarette brands, du Maurier. Du Maurier is using a more sustainable grade of paper for the outer cardboard packaging and they have removed the traditional inside foil liners with ones made of paper. To promote these green initiatives, du Maurier invested in a full-page color advertisement in a major Canadian magazine.

While it seems laughable that a tobacco company would be trying to paint itself with a shade of green, does this constitute greenwashing?

Gideon Forman of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment said: “Is it green washing? Yes.” According to the ‘Seven Sins of Greenwashing’, the closest sin that du Maurier might be guilty of is the Sin of Lesser of Two Evils. This is where an environmental claim makes consumers feel ‘green’ about a product that is lacking in environmental benefits.

Obviously cigarettes are lacking in environmental benefits. But was the intent of the advertisement to trick people into thinking they were improving the environment by smoking du Maurier cigarettes? Doubtful. My guess is that they are trying to convince existing smokers to try their brand because of their green actions, basically saying ‘if you are going to partake in this senseless habit you might as well use one with green packaging’. Maybe they did some research and found there are enough smokers out there with an environmental conscience to warrant this advertisement.

If they truly are just promoting their recent green packaging without trying to pass off cigarettes as a green product, the greenwashing angle might be unfounded. Yet all of these issues may soon become irrelevant, as wheels are in motion to close the Canadian tobacco advertising loophole that allows ads like this to continue to be published.

Image: SuperFantastic at flickr under a CC License

Stephen Boles is co-founder of Kuzuka, a marketplace website that brings a new level of convenience and confidence to carbon offset customers and provide consulting services to organizations that want to assess and reduce their carbon footprint.

In Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the most prestigious avenue in Paris, France, famous for its cinemas, cafés, and luxury specialty shops, cigarette butts sit at the streets. When the authorities here banned smoking inside cafes, little did they know they were creating another hazard: the wanton disposal of cigarette butts, propelled mainly by the absence of public ashtrays.

When smokers toss away cigarette butts onto street pavements or out into the open landscape, little do they know how much damage that can inflict onto the environment. Apart from harm to the environment, many minors tend to experiment with smoking on cigarette butts which makes it all the more important to dispose them away properly.

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In the late 90’s, cigarette makers experienced the kind of market boom in Asia that they hadn’t seen in the USA in years. Big tobacco enjoyed a tightening grip on Asian asian wallets and lungs; things were looking good. But in the last decade, an emerging health consciousness, popularly known as the wellbeing trend, has threatened to send the plans of cigarette makers up in smoke.

South Korea, for one, has seen a precipitous drop in smoking. In 2000, 70-80 percent of South Korean men were smokers. That number has tumbled to around 40% today. It’s no Bhutan, which banned all tobacco in 2004, but that’s still an impressive improvement. Why the sudden decrease in smoking?

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It is estimated that several trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide each year. In the US, and around the world, it is wins the "most littered item" prize.

The butts are harmful to wildlife and have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, and whales. Plus, those toxic chemicals that the filter was designed to keep from entering the body, stay there - until, of course, the butt reaches a body of water and the chemicals start to leak out. Tossed cigarette butts are also the cause of countless fires.

So what can we do?

If you are a smoker, dispose of your butts properly. You might even want to consider a pocket ashtray. As The Smoking Section says, "Considerate smokers don't litter. Those who do deserve criticism as much as any other litterer."

If you don't smoke, but know someone who does, and litters along with it, send them an anonymous email letting them know the facts.

We can all do our part by picking up litter, including cigarette butts, and getting them to a trash can. Better that we do it than to allow the litter to continue to harm the environment.

Rebecca says: I hope that some of you readers will send some anonymous emails (or just speak with your friends directly). I'd love to hear your thoughts in this issue. Leave a comment!

Resources:

CigaretteLitter.org

Cigarette Butt Litter

Keep America Beautiful:Cigarette Litter Prevention Program