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Save the Earth, Not the “Smokes”

4/19/2010

Legacy Urges Smokers to Reduce the Environmental Impact of Cigarettes for Earth Day

Washington, D.C. – Legacy, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing tobacco use, is urging smokers to refrain from kicking cigarette butts to the curb this Earth Day. Tobacco is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States, and the remnants of cigarette smoking are the most common source of litter collected across the world.

“It is a little known fact that cigarettes play a major role as litter and toxic waste on our already taxed environment,” said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, President and CEO of Legacy. “If you smoke, think about quitting, not only for yourself but for the environment.”

According to environmental cleanup reports, more than 3 million cigarettes or cigarette filters/butts were picked up internationally from beaches and inland waterways as part of the annual International Coastal Cleanup in 2009. This number includes more than one million from the United States alone, making it the No. 1 littered item found on beaches and waterways.

“Smokers might be tossing their butts without realizing the impact it could have on the environment,” said Tom Novotny, Professor of Global Health in the Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University “It’s possible that smokers think that since tobacco is organic, its waste is harmless. However, that is not the case because both the plastic filters and the remnants of tobacco are poisonous to children and other living organisms. These contain nicotine, heavy metals, and other toxic chemicals.” Novotny is currently conducting research on the environmental impact of discarded cigarette butts.

Tobacco industry research reveals that there might be misconceptions that cigarette filters are readily biodegradable or inconsequential as litter because of their small size. However, in reality they degrade very slowly, and even under ideal conditions can take years to breakdown, merely breaking up into small particles of toxic waste. Other reasons why smokers litter butts include the unavailability of waste disposal facilities and the ubiquitous and unconscious behavior of flicking butts on the ground.

“Flicking butts could even be part of the entire smoking ritual,” Healton said. Legacy provides resources and information to smokers who want to quit for good through a national smoking cessation campaign called EX^®. This campaign (www.BecomeAnEX.org) encourages smokers to approach quitting smoking as “re-learning” life without cigarettes, and provides evidence-based tools to help smokers overcome their addiction with practice and preparation.

“Quitting smoking is a great way to live a longer, healthier life. We hope that Earth Day reminds smokers about cigarettes’ adverse impact on the environment, as well as serve as a motivator for smokers to quit and to leave the legacy of a beautiful, healthy planet for future generations,” Healton said.

Legacy is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the national public health organization helps American live longer, healthier lives. Legacy develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation’s programs include truth^®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as having contributed to significant declines in youth smoking; EX^®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; and research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit www.legacyforhealth.org.

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Contact: Sarah Shank, 202-454-5561, sshank@legacyforhealth.org