Two researchers at San Diego State University propose banning cigarette filters to help improve the quality of the environment.
The reason behind it is that because after cigarettes are smoked, 2/3 of the butts are tossed on the ground and don’t make it into the garbage. These cigarette butts contain toxins, pesticides, and carcinogens that can leach chemicals for up to 10 years. It is estimated that 4.5 trillion cigarette filters become litter every year.
The researchers call filtered cigarettes a “farce” in terms of consumer safety, with a recent National Cancer Institute review showing that these are not healthier or safer than non-filtered ones. Jonathan Samet from the University of Southern California advised the California State Legislature that “it is evident that filtered cigarettes have had little impact on the risks of smoking over the last half century.”
Since existing anti-littering laws have not decreased the quantity of cigarette butts on the ground, researchers are asking for new environmental interventions and partnerships with environmental organizations. Another proposal is to hold the tobacco industry legally responsible for clean-up (cigarettes are the most common form of litter in the world) and to add labels on cigarette packages about the toxicity of discarded butts.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other researchers discovered that a cigarette butt soaked in a liter of water for 4 days will kill both the topsmelt and the freshwater fathead minnow species. Filters float and are washed to and in storm drains when it rains and end up in our lagoon.
Fifty entire years after the Surgeon General declared smoking cigarettes to be harmful, tobacco continues to be the single greatest cause of preventable cancer mortality worldwide. The tobacco industry is pretty shady. They added a filter to continue to market their product in a more “healthful” way and declared that filtered cigarettes have “low-tar” however research results indicate that the risks of tobacco to health remain extremely strong and some concentrations of carcinogens in cigarettes have likely increased with time.
The first cigarettes were wrapped in corn husks. In the 17th century husks were replaced with paper and until the 1950’s cigarettes were sold without filters. When filters were first introduced in the early 1950s Kent brand cigarettes used asbestos as part of their filter. The filters themselves may be adding to the carcinogenic effect of smoking as they are made with thousands of plastic fibers that are linked to several negative health consequences. These plastics cause resistance to biodegrading and is a factor in littering, environmental damage, and suggested lung damage.
A ban on cigarette filters makes sense. Since they are contributing to the negative health consequences of smoking, littering the earth, and polluting our soil and water with toxic chemicals they serve no purpose.
Upcoming events:
Wednesdays: Surf Flix, Coconuts, 6 p.m.
June 6-7: Waterman’s Challenge, International Palms Resort
June 6: Surfrider Challenge, International Palms Resort
June 17: Monthly Meeting, The Surfinista, 6 p.m.
June 19: Cocoa Beach Friday Fest
June 20: Surfers For Autism and International Surfing Day, Lori Wilson Park
By Jackie Beatty
Photo credit: Bill Hausmann
The post Butts Everywhere appeared first on The Beachside Resident Co..
