Toxic Butts, Ctd

A reader notes an unintended consequence of smoking bans:

It’s not hard to determine why there are more cigarette butts on the sidewalks than ever before. Thanks to the smoking bans in virtually all work places, restaurants and most bars, there are no more ashtrays available outside one’s home. So where else can that butt land? You certainly don’t want a smoldering cigarette butt in a garbage can. That’s a recipe for fire. And telling smokers, “Well, just don’t smoke until you get home” is simply unrealistic given the nature of nicotine addiction.

Update from a reader:

When I was in the Peace Corps my roommate smoked. One day we were standing outside and I noticed he finished a cigarette and wiggled the end of the filter between his fingers until the last bit of tobacco and rolling paper fell off. He then put the filter in his pocket. He did a lot of hiking and camping and didn’t like littering the place with stuff that would just sit there forever.

So there is one answer to your reader. Is it convenient? Probably not, but you know there are a lot of things that go along with this addiction. Compared to the inconvenience of lung cancer, emphysema, and heart disease, I don’t think storing the butts in your pocket until you can get to a trashcan is that much of a burden.

Another adds, “In the army we called this field stripping a cigarette.”