Why is a group with Tobacco-Free in its name so passionate and determined to promote plastic-free living for the month of July? Because tobacco product waste, especially the tiny but troublesome discarded cigarette butts, is a form of plastic waste.
“According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered every year, making them the most littered item on the planet,” says Jonathan Chaffee, Youth Coordinator for Tobacco-Free Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties (TF-CCA). “That’s a problem because cigarette butt filters are made of a nonbiodegradable plastic called cellulose acetate.”
When tossed into the environment, cigarette butts dump not only plastic, but also nicotine, arsenic, formaldehyde, lead and cadmium that leaches into our soil, waterway systems and surrounding environment, affecting all kinds of living things from plants and flowers to wildlife and marine life.
Beyond cigarette butts
Chaffee notes that cigarette butts are just one form of tobacco product waste that is plastic litter. Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes or vapes, are also toxic to the environment because they contain an lithium battery and the e-juice, both of which are considered hazardous waste. Add plastic cigar tips, tobacco product wrappers and smokeless tobacco product containers and the local, state and global pollution problem continues.
What can you do in your community
- Host a cigarette butt cleanup? Cleanups can help build awareness about the extent of the tobacco product pollution and why it’s important to stop. Be sure to wear gloves and pick up discarded vapes, cigar tips and plastic packaging as well.
- Establish a smoke and vape free policy for community events and activities.
- Help people quit. Eliminating tobacco product waste for good also means helping smokers and vapers quit.
The New York State Smokers’ Quitline is a confidential service for all New York State residents who wish to overcome dependence on commercial tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Free offerings include individualized coaching and assistance with quit-planning from highly trained tobacco treatment specialists, text and online chat support and free shipping of stop-smoking medications such as nicotine patches, nicotine lozenges or nicotine gum for those 18 and older.
Residents of all ages may contact the Quitline for support and educational materials. In addition, the Quitline encourages teens and young adults (ages 13-24) to text “DROPTHEVAPE” to 88709 to join “This Is Quitting,” a free texting support program for help with quitting vaping. For more information, text QUITNOW to 333888 or call 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487) seven days a week, beginning at 9 a.m.
Reality Check is a teen-led, adult-run program that seeks to prevent and decrease tobacco use among young people throughout New York State.
For more information about Reality Check, visit realitycheckofny.org.
Reality Check New York empowers youth to become leaders in their community in exposing what they see as the manipulative and deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. The organization’s members produce change in their communities through grassroots mobilization and education. Reality Check in this area is affiliated with Tobacco-Free Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany (TF-CCA), a program of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The NYS Tobacco Control Program is made up of a network of statewide contractors who work on Advancing Tobacco-Free Communities, which includes Community Engagement and Reality Check, the Health Systems for a Tobacco-Free New York, the NYS Smokers’ Quitline and Surveillance and Research. Their efforts are leading the way toward a tobacco-free society. For more information, visit TobaccoFreeNYS.org, YOUR OWN WEBSITE and NYSmokeFree.com.