Cigarette butt litter -

"Each year more than 1 billion pieces of litter will accumulate on Texas highways. Of those, 13 percent are cigarette butts. That means 130 million butts will be tossed out in Texas alone this year."
--Texas Department of Transportation

Cigarette Litter

Not only are cigarettes harming smoker and non smoker health but they make a mess of our cities and country - every single roadside trashed with butts!

Again my son nudges me on - "Why haven't you posted about it?" He remembers an incident when he was much younger and we were about to exit our car in a shopping center and the woman in the next car tossed her cigarette out at my feet. Phoom! I picked it up and held it over her lap. "Excuse me. Please tell me you will put this out in an ashtray or I will drop it in your lap." - Her reply was "Are you kidding!" The cigarette was still lit. "Your choice lady." She took it and put it out.

This was cigarette butt tossing rage and I guess it does not happen often enough to change smokers bad habits. And I was very upset.

I notice this horrible littering habit all the time.

I saw a couple enter a COMPUSA the other day - she tossed her lit cigarette and he put his out - and fluffed the tobacco - put the filter in the trash. I was surprised at such a split of behavior. I complimented him on his good behavior and told him he should teach his girlfriend the same method and habit. His reply was interesting - "I was in the Navy!"

Why is that interesting?

The Navy does not tolerate tossing lit cigarettes and cigarrette litter.

Neither should the rest of us!

How can we can make things better? Do we think this is an important matter of discipline as the services (I was taught the same filed stripping procedure in the US Army.)?