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And its effects on the environment

Cigarette Butt litter

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How cigarette butts are harming our environment.

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Page 1: Cigarette Butt litter

And its effects on the environment

Page 2: Cigarette Butt litter

The litter

Four and a half trillion cigarettes are littered annually. 30 percent of cigarettes smoked end up as litter. The filters are made of cellulose acetate, which can

take up to 25 years to break apart. These filters will trap the chemicals in the tobacco,

which then leeches into the ground, harming the ecosystem.

Page 3: Cigarette Butt litter

Deforestation

Each year, 200,000 hectares of land are cut on tobacco use alone. A hectare is equal to 32,800 square feet.

Wood is used to build barns to cure tobacco, and also for fuel, for the smoke to help cure the tobacco.

Page 4: Cigarette Butt litter

The effects on animals

Cigarettes have been found in the stomachs of whales, birds, fish, and other marine animals.

These animals will mistake them as food, and get poisoned from the chemicals in the butts.

The leeched Nicotine from the butts is lethal to the water flea, which is critical to the ecosystem.

Page 5: Cigarette Butt litter

The Food Web

Page 6: Cigarette Butt litter

The many chemicals in a cigarette There are thousands of chemicals and additives in a cigarette. Some of them are:

Preservatives Natural and artificial flavours Insecticides

Some examples are:

Nicotine (highly poisonous and addictive) Hydrogen Cyanide (the gas used in execution chambers) Arsenic (rat poison) Formaldehyde (used to preserve corpses) Ammonia (drain cleaner) Carbon Monoxide (car exhaust)

Page 7: Cigarette Butt litter

So what can we do to help?

First, educate the public about the harm on the environment, so they will be self conscious about littering.

Second, provide public ashtrays, so they will end up in a landfill instead of the ecosystem.

If at all possible, quit smoking altogether, thought this may be hard for some.

One other option is to provide pocket ashtrays, because public ones are not always convenient.

Page 8: Cigarette Butt litter

Thanks for watching!

Page 9: Cigarette Butt litter

Credits: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/10/cigarette_butts.php

http://www.alive.com/7481a19a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=2153

http://cigarettelitter.org/

http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/environment/beware-indoor-pollutants/