It’s hard to measure the environmental impact of the billions of discarded cigarette butts worldwide, but researchers have been doing just that over a number of years. Clear? If you are a smoker or if you are a world citizen concerned about the toxins that are taking over our planet, read on.

First, imagine this scenario: when a Frenchman goes about developing a fine wine, he considers where he will plant his vineyard very carefully. He knows that where he chooses to grow his vines will have a direct effect on the taste of the ultimate product. Why?

Plants that grow in the ground inevitably take on the character of the land & air which surround it: there might be lavender, rosemary, wild oregano, & even current bushes growing nearby. He may select to plant his vineyard near groves of olive trees. The grapes that grow on his vines will make a wine that contains the subtle tastes & flavors of these neighboring plants.

The point of this little vignette is that everything that goes into the ground or air affects everything around it, both for good or for ill. In the case of the grapes, it is a desirable cause & effect. In the case of cigarette butt litter, it is not.

Billions & billions of cigarette butts are discarded by careless smokers every year. Because one butt is so small, a smoker may think that her or his impact on the environment is minimal. Also, they might rationalize, the paper & tobacco of the butts are biodegradable & can not do any harm.

While it is true that one smoker’s trash may not make much of a difference, he does not live in a vacuum: he is in the company of billions of others, & together they make a serious environmental impact. As to biodegradability, while it is true that paper & tobacco do break down over time, the cellulose acetate filters do NOT, & the known chemicals & acknowledged carcinogens contained in the butts do not disappear magically.

Where do all the chemicals go?

Most carelessly discarded cigarette butts ultimately end up on the sides of the road or in storm drains. Butts that are flicked from car windows at high speed often cause fires during the hot summer months. They may be ingested by animals that inadvertently pick them up as part of a mouthful of grass. The chemicals will leach down into the ground thanks to rainfall & poison the land with toxins.

Eventually, all chemicals from cigarette butts end up in the water shed or even in the oceans. Butts have been found in the stomachs of sea turtles, fish, birds, & even whales. They contaminate our water with formaldehyde, arsenic, chromium, & lead.

Like the winemaker’s grapes, our world will soon harvest poisonous fruit as a result of the unnecessary toxins from cigarettes that spoil the land, air, & water. The enormous majority of smokers probably do not realize the impact of that one seemingly innocuous butt thrown into the gutter: it’s time to get the facts & make the necessary changes in our habits.