Cigarette Butts and Our Environment

 Cigarette butts cause a serious imbalance in the ecosystem .While most people are aware of the health risks involved in smoking, few seem to realize that cigarettes are also bad for the environment.Cigarette butts may seem small, but with an estimated 6.3  trillion butts littered every year make it enormous.

 

 

Each butt contains the remnants of tobacco, paper and a filter. The residue in the butts contains toxic, soluble hazardous chemicals such as cadmium, arsenic and lead that are partially filtered out during the smoking process. When butts are discarded, wind and rain carry them into the water supply.  The toxic chemicals they contain are then leached  into aquatic ecosystems,  threatening the quality of the water and marine life. 


Many countries are now trying to reduce the level of cigarette consumption.Smoking rates have leveled off or declined in developed nations, especially among men, in developing nations tobacco  consumption continues to rise. Surprisingly  80% of all smokers are from countries with low or middle incomes. As an average cigarette consumption in Montenegro is  4124.53 cigarette  in a year.  Increased tobacco control efforts must be targeted at  diehard users, who are often the most vulnerable members of a society.