Did you know that an estimate of 1.7 billion pounds of cigarette butts wind up as toxic trash each year? That’s only one of the many consequences caused by smoking in public. If people would quit smoking in public it would reduce litter, secondhand smoke, and thirdhand smoke.
First of all, litter is a big problem already but cigarette butts just add to it. Cigarette butts are not biodegradable, which means they aren’t capable of being decomposed. According to www.no-smoke.org, smoke free beach laws help reduce butts on beaches by 45%. The city of San Francisco has estimated that 11 million dollars is spent per year cleaning up cigarette butts. Discarded cigarette butts damage commercial fisheries and water supplies. They also are a major cause of fires. A fact from www.verywell.com says that five trillion cigarette filters weigh approximately 2 billion pounds. That would add up eventually. The toxin from butts create a huge environmental, health, and economic burden. …show more content…
According to www.richmondregister.com, banning smoking in public places can reduce heart attack hospitalizations up to 36% over time. For some people, secondhand smoke causes headaches, breathing problems, and even nausea. Unlike other self-indulgent behaviors like eating fast food or drinking alcohol in public, smoking in public affects other people. www.everydayhealth.com states that an estimated 3,400 lung cancer and 46,000 heart disease deaths is from secondhand smoke. About 21 million children live in homes where they are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke. Children exposed to secondhand smoke suffer asthma attacks, respiratory diseases, and infections at an increased
First of all, litter is a big problem already but cigarette butts just add to it. Cigarette butts are not biodegradable, which means they aren’t capable of being decomposed. According to www.no-smoke.org, smoke free beach laws help reduce butts on beaches by 45%. The city of San Francisco has estimated that 11 million dollars is spent per year cleaning up cigarette butts. Discarded cigarette butts damage commercial fisheries and water supplies. They also are a major cause of fires. A fact from www.verywell.com says that five trillion cigarette filters weigh approximately 2 billion pounds. That would add up eventually. The toxin from butts create a huge environmental, health, and economic burden. …show more content…
According to www.richmondregister.com, banning smoking in public places can reduce heart attack hospitalizations up to 36% over time. For some people, secondhand smoke causes headaches, breathing problems, and even nausea. Unlike other self-indulgent behaviors like eating fast food or drinking alcohol in public, smoking in public affects other people. www.everydayhealth.com states that an estimated 3,400 lung cancer and 46,000 heart disease deaths is from secondhand smoke. About 21 million children live in homes where they are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke. Children exposed to secondhand smoke suffer asthma attacks, respiratory diseases, and infections at an increased