# Question That Interests Me



## wdcav1952 (Mar 2, 2008)

I am NOT trying to start a fight here; I am honestly curious about this issue.

I just got back from a trip to Wally World.  I saw three people finish their smokes before entering the store.  One, a woman, crushed out her cigarette and threw it in the trash.  The other two, both men, simply threw their cigarettes on the ground.  One threw his in the direction of a trash can and the other just flicked his away and then cleared his throat and spit on the sidewalk.

When the Rotary Club I belonged to several years ago did our road cleanup, we had to ignore cigarette butts since they were so numerous that we could not have finished our stretch of highway if we had tried to get them all.

When I had my own office, people would take that last drag and toss the butt in my parking lot with monotonous regularity.

Now for the question:  Why do a significant percentage of smokers consider their butts not to be litter?  This could also include the dippers who spit and discard their chew on the sidewalks and parking lots.

I am not a litterer and get mildly or perhaps not so mildly pissed at those who do.  Any comments and/or discussion is encouraged.  Bashing of tobacco users in general is discouraged.


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## rjwolfe3 (Mar 2, 2008)

Maybe this is because I'm prior military, but when I used to smoke, I would field strip my butts and bury them.  Not the best for the enviroment but I've seen more then one trash can on fire because of discarded butts.


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## scotirish (Mar 2, 2008)

As an ex smoker,  I feel that most smokers are "put out" because they are being told they can smoke in less and less places!  I can no longer tolerate smoke and will get up and leave a restaurant where I smell smoke while I eat.  I have heard some smokers complain about "non-smoking" restaurants.  I think it there way of getting back at society for wanting to clean up.  I think the same thing should be done as what my neighbor does when someone walks his dog and allows it to use his lawn as a toilet, then does not clean up.  He picks it up, follows them to there house and the throws it on there lawn! [:0][:0]  Maybe we should throw the "butts" in their living room! 
Well, thats my story and I am sticking to it. [8)][8)]


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## Dario (Mar 2, 2008)

As with most habits (good or bad), people do it unconsciously.  Reminders (even not too subtle ones) usually are ignored.

In Guam, you can get cited by throwing a cigarette butt out of your vehicle.  I want to see more of that happening here to curve the habit.  It can also cause brush fire...sadly some probably caused fire they didn't even know.

Spitting (especially in public) is a nasty habit as far as I am concerned (sorry if I offend anyone with this comment).


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## BruceK (Mar 2, 2008)

Here in Washington state tossing a lit cigarette will get you a $500 fine.  Just tossing a unlit butt will get you a $50 fine.  What really irks me is those who empty out their entire ashtray in parking lots....like at the local postoffice 

I think people who litter are just demonstrating their willful ignorance to the rest of us.


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## bkc (Mar 2, 2008)

I still smoke. If I'm in a designated smoking area, there SHOULD be a receptacle for the butts that's fire proof. If there isn't, often the case since we're considered the lower class, I put my cigarette out on the bottom of my shoe and pocket the butt. I don't like seeing butts laying around either. As for throwing a lit/unlit cigarette out a car window, hard to track who did it, but that should be a $1,000 fine (minimum).


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## airrat (Mar 2, 2008)

I agree that people should be fined for throwing their butts on the ground or spitting their chew on the sidewalk.  But, I also think people should be fined for throwing their entire 12 pack of bottles out of their vehicle so they don't have to go home with it.   Campers that do not pack out what they pack in should be put on community service to clean an entire camp site.   

As to a place for smokers to put their butts.   Even the butt cans are dangerous.  I have seen a number of them (the plastic pole types) smoking due to whatever is at the bottom to put it out is empty or there are so many butts in there.   It should be the smokers responsibility to make sure their butt is out and then put it in the can.


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## rlharding (Mar 2, 2008)

Why is it only men who spit.  I have never seen a woman do it, there may be women who do but I have never seen one.


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## LostintheWoods (Mar 2, 2008)

Ruth, the men spit. The women change the kid's dirty diaper, and throw the soiled one in the grocery store parking lot.


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## R2 (Mar 2, 2008)

Seems like bad habits are the same everywhere. 
All the aforementioned "nasties" happen here and really irk me. 
Another thing that gets up my nose is parents who put kids in shopping trolleys and if the child soils the nappy and it leaks, then too bad. Even putting kids in trolleys is bad enough. Who knows what their feet have been through.
I also detest the leaving of trolleys all over the carpark so that it becomes an obstacle course with fewer parking spaces.


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## Tonto (Mar 2, 2008)

Pet peeve of mine as well, two thoughts...dollar a pack tax to pay for supervision of sentence to serve types who, when caught throwing a butt get some community service by filling a 55-gallon drum with butts...I would volunteer for the state highway patrol to look for these dudes and write tickets all day...Its bad enough that the outside of most buildings stink of smoke then to have to shuffle through the discards.....smoke in your own home, leave me out of it


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## Ron in Drums PA (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by BruceK_
> 
> What really irks me is those who empty out their entire ashtray in parking lots...





> _Originally posted by LostintheWoods_
> 
> ... women change the kid's dirty diaper, and throw the soiled one in the grocery store parking lot.



Two of my biggest pet peeves.

If this site wasn't rated "G" I'd tell you exactly how I feel.


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## rlharding (Mar 2, 2008)

Shannon, the worst is when they just dump it outside the car and leave it in the parking space.  People can be such pigs.


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## Proud_Poppa_of_2 (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by rlharding_
> 
> Why is it only men who spit.  I have never seen a woman do it, there may be women who do but I have never seen one.




Ruth, I'd like you to meet my wife.


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## stevers (Mar 2, 2008)

I work for the Parks Department in the city I live near. Cig butts is one of the biggest problems we have. So much so, we can't and wont try to keep up with them. 
In the state of Arizona, we passed a law prohibiting smoking with in 20 feet of an entrance or ventilation entrance to any structure. (something along those lines) And many folks just ignore the new law. And to clarify, I am an X-smoker. Just over 10 years of smoking and have been smoke free for 15 months, since news years two years ago. 
And we get the diapers also, that is disgusting. Show some common sense and consideration. We have trash cans all over the place, every 50 feet anyway. And during events we double them up. 
One must also consider the fire hazard connected with discarding a lit cig. Here in my area of Az., we hit the 115's regularly and the brush and weeds get very dry. One inadvertently tossed butt can cause a catastrophe. And has for that matter.


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## jwoodwright (Mar 2, 2008)

Anchorage only has outside smoking.  We've had huge forest fires from discarded  cigarettes.  Thousands of acres and homes and such lost.  We have huge littering fines.  Doesn't stop some people.

Our parking lots are littered with cigarette butts and diapers.  One of the worst things I did was to help with the highway clean-up.  I can't begin to tell you what we picked up.  All I know is with the number we found, they must be defective...[:0][:I]  Because of all the diapers...[:0][:I]

Break-up and melting snow is around the corner.  Then smells of Spring, dog crap wafting in the breeze...[:I]


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## GBusardo (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Tonto_
> 
> Pet peeve of mine as well, two thoughts...dollar a pack tax to pay for supervision of sentence to serve types who, when caught throwing a butt get some community service by filling a 55-gallon drum with butts...I would volunteer for the state highway patrol to look for these dudes and write tickets all day...Its bad enough that the outside of most buildings stink of smoke then to have to shuffle through the discards.....smoke in your own home, leave me out of it




Pet peeve of mine, everytime there is a problem, a tax hike should take care of it  

The people who throw butts out the window or on the ground are usually so self absorbed, they have no clue what they are doing.


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## Aderhammer (Mar 2, 2008)

I agree w/ John, when I help out at scouts to clean up the state gamelands we find some products that were "defective".


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## DocStram (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Proud_Poppa_of_2_
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Anybody happen to know Mrs. Proud_Poppa_of_2's email address?  She may be interested in getting a copy of this post.


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## GBusardo (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by DocStram_
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Blackmail????  LOL [}]


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## Tonto (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Tonto_
> 
> Pet peeve of mine as well, two thoughts...dollar a pack tax to pay for supervision of sentence to serve types
> 
> change that to a dollar a pack *donation* so the folks who hate taxes can write off the donation   Sorry to all the Republicans out there! [B)]


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## Proud_Poppa_of_2 (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by DocStram_
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You must have misunderstood me, Al.  [:0]  What I meant was that my wife would be in total agreement with Ruth.  Yeah, that's the ticket.  What did you think I meant, that Proud_Momma is a loogey hocker?


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## thetalbott4 (Mar 2, 2008)

When I smoked I would pinch or roll the remaining lit tobacco out of the cig, roll the end between my fingers to make sure the rest of the fire was out, and throw the butt in a trash can. No mess, no fire. If people want to smoke, they should be able to, but not at everyone elses expense, be it health or otherwise.


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## RonSchmitt (Mar 2, 2008)

I still smoke, but I try to have some courtesy about it. If there is no designated receptacle for butts, I field strip it and stick it in my pocket. Its my mess, I don't expect someone else to clean up after me.
As for those who empty the ashtrays on the ground, it is disgusting to me also, Not ALL smokers are slobs.


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## wdcav1952 (Mar 2, 2008)

Ron, I did not mean to paint anyone as a slob.  Both of my children smoke.  I do not and wish that they would quit.  I admire people like you who take responsibility for their own trash, be it cigarette butts, bottles or whatever.  I have always been curious as to why some do not consider cigarette butts to be trash.  I feel that it has been a problem long before smoking was limited in any way.  I remember my brother being in the army in the sixties and having to pick up butts.  I honestly think some people just don't think.

In one office I had I could see the parking lot from my reception desk.  One lady got out of her car, took that long last drag, and flicked her butt (cigarette butt, Ed!!) into the parking lot as she came into the office.  While working on her teeth, I casually worked smoking into the conversation and talked about smoking cessation with her.  I mentioned that some people are prejudiced against smokers because of people tossing their butts in parking lots.  (Yes, I described exactly what I had seen her do.)  She thought for a moment and then said that she realized that she had been doing just that without thinking.  She further said that she was going to start being more considerate with her litter.  Perhaps needless to say, I made it a point to be at the reception area when she was due for her next appointment.  Sigh, another cigarette butt tossed in my parking lot. 

Again, my motivation is to try and see what someone is, or is not, thinking when they litter with cigarette butts.  I am NOT bashing smokers.


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## IPD_Mrs (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by rlharding_
> 
> Why is it only men who spit.  I have never seen a woman do it, there may be women who do but I have never seen one.



Never been to Kentucky have you.

Mike


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## wdcav1952 (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by MLKWoodWorking_
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Mike, Kentucky women don't spit between their teeth, though. [}]


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## Jarheaded (Mar 2, 2008)

Why is it when you ask someone to not smoke around you, they seem to feel justified in blowing smoke in your face? Of course I don't mean everyone, but there are a certain few out there that do it. Last fall my me and my brother went to a hockey game and some moron did that to him. We were escorted out of the arena after my brother gave the guy what he deserved, a quick jab to the throat. He may have been a little out of line by hitting the guy, but it was a hockey game after all and we both felt that the act of blowing smoke in our lungs is assault. I was out riding with a group of guys and a man threw a cigar out of his window that smacked me dead in the chest. I got a little upset and was able to catch the car at a light. I went up to the window hoping to pull him out and explain the hazards of what he had done. The man had to be in his late 70's and so was everyone else in the car. I told him what he had done and he apologized and said that he didn't even think about that when he throws them away. I just got back on my bike and left, what else could I do? I would have loved to pull him out of his car and make him eat the cigar, but it wasn't going to be worth it with him. If he was a lot younger the events might have taken a different turn. Next time, I'll go on a rant about people that sit in their cars in handicapped parking like it is okay because they are with their car.


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## IPD_Mrs (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by wdcav1952_
> 
> 
> Mike, Kentucky women don't spit between their teeth, though. [}]



What teeth?


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## wdcav1952 (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by MLKWoodWorking_
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My point exactly!!


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## OKLAHOMAN (Mar 2, 2008)

Smoked for 50 years and had my last (I hope) cigarette july 4th last year and I was guilty of doing just what 90% of all smokers do,if there wasn't an ashtray around on the ground it went and stepped on to make sure it was out. Looking back on it I was littering just as bad as the guy who throws his empty coke can on the ground[V].I remember smoking in the movies(Cav they were talkies),in all stores,bars and resturants and all had butts on the floor,not everthing was better in the good old days[}].


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## wdcav1952 (Mar 2, 2008)

> _Originally posted by OKLAHOMAN_
> 
> Smoked for 50 years and had my last (I hope) cigarette july 4th last year and I was guilty of doing just what 90% of all smokers do,if there wasn't an ashtray around on the ground it went and stepped on to make sure it was out. Looking back on it I was littering just as bad as the guy who throws his empty coke can on the ground[V].I remember smoking in the movies(Cav they were talkies),in all stores,bars and resturants and all had butts on the floor,not everthing was better in the good old days[}].



ROTFLMAO!!!!


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## alamocdc (Mar 3, 2008)

I quit smoking in 1980. But I too remember when you could smoke anywhere, movies, grocery stores, etc. Being prior military I field stripped all my butts unless there was a proper receptacle around. But to answer your question, Cav, I think the problem is deeper than many want to realize. I taught in the public school system back in the '80's (LOML still does) and I noticed that most of my students had no respect... for anything... other people, property (especially if it weren't theirs), etc. Some would say, "It's just a sign of the times." Ppshah and hog wash! I truly believe it's a sign of the decay I've noticed over the years. Some might try to label it moral decay, but it covers so much more than that. Sorry, rant over, you just pushed the right button. 



> _Originally posted by rlharding_
> 
> Why is it only men who spit.  I have never seen a woman do it, there may be women who do but I have never seen one.



Ruth, I could point you in the direction of a few rodeo gals, but out of politeness, I'll refrain.[}]


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## karlkuehn (Mar 3, 2008)

I usually spit on my butt to put it out and then look around in the parking lot until I find a dirty diaper to stuff it in.

Okay, I can't set it up any better than that! Have at it. heh []

I get pretty miffed about the disregard people have for others. I think the level of respect that people show is a direct reflection on the respect they have for themselves. Pretty sad, really.


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## jwoodwright (Mar 3, 2008)

Ok Karl, Do you hold the dirty diaper while you're stuffing it? Exactly what are you stuffing in that diaper?[:0][:I][][)]


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## rlharding (Mar 3, 2008)

Mike, I am going to stay away from your wife and women from Kentucky!


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## kent4Him (Mar 3, 2008)

Not only do I hate it when a lit cigarette gets thrown out the window(especially in the dark), but I've seen some throw the empty pack out the window as well.  Make me want to grab a can of garbage and dump it in their car window.


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## Ron in Drums PA (Mar 3, 2008)

> _Originally posted by karlkuehn_
> 
> I usually spit on my butt to put it out and then look around in the parking lot until I find a dirty diaper to stuff it in.



I certainly hope you are talking about your cigarette butt.


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## avbill (Mar 3, 2008)

I have never smoked.  Yet, there has been only one community that has done something positive for the smoker. Oberlin, in Ohio.  My son went to Oberlin College.   They have a cigarettes pots designed trash cans) at the doors of buildings so the smoker can throw the cigarette into a designed trash can.  On campus and in the town there is little or no cigarette butt on the ground, in the streets. 

Bill Daniels


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## Proud_Poppa_of_2 (Mar 3, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Ron in Drums PA_
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If he's talking about his posterior, then 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 is one limber individual, because I've tried this and success did not forthcome.


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## rincewind03060 (Mar 3, 2008)

I smoked for 40 years. I was raised in California where there were not only humongous fines for littering but the chance of setting a brush or forest fire if not careful (and my mother would have hit me upside the head if I littered). I would snap off the filter and grind the rest into the ground. The thin paper and tobacco are fairly quickly biodegradable and the filter I put in my pocket for later disposal. 

Since moving to New England, I frequently see people throwing live butts out of their car windows. That horrifies me, but I guess the fire danger is not as troublesome in this wet climate.

As to the littering, I don't think you can put it all on smokers (I am not defending them in this). I see plenty of cans and other food and drink wrappers and containers along the road. I've seen and stepped in my share of chewing gum and less mentionable materials on the sidewalk. Any, if you want to see real litter just look at New York's Central Park after the Earth Day festivities every year.


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## RonSchmitt (Mar 3, 2008)

> _Originally posted by wdcav1952_
> 
> Ron, I did not mean to paint anyone as a slob.


Didn't take it that way Cav.


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## Penmonkey (Mar 3, 2008)

Inside or out, I hate it when people smoke. It is the dumbest thing you can do to yourself and others.


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## fernhills (Mar 3, 2008)

Hi, i don`t think it matters if you smoke or not,some people are just sloppy and others are not. I am a x smoker now for a year or more. I never forced myself and my habit on others. LOML does not smoke and i did. I never smoked inside this house not once. That was my own dirty little habit and i kept it to my self. Both of my children smoke,and i just pray that they wake up before it is to late. Carl


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## pianomanpj (Mar 4, 2008)

I, too, am a reformed smoker. Have been for about thirteen years. I never smoked indoors in the apartment where I live, but many other folks had. I use the past tense, since I bought the building six years ago and created a no-smoking policy. But I digress...

Could it be that discarding cigarette butts on the ground may be in part a learned behavior? Obviously laziness can play a role in the act, but could it also be an unconscious acceptance since it has been entrenched in our minds since childhood? I mean, most folks would not consciously litter, but flicking a cigarette butt might not even make it onto the "awareness radar". My grandfather, who smoked, used to smoke filterless cigarettes. Definitely more biodegradable. The filter cigarette, as we know it today, is a relatively new product. And if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that the "cigarette butt litter" problem is not much more than sixty years old, but the flicking habit goes back many, many generations.

That's my two pence worth. Soapbox is available for the next crier!


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## wdcav1952 (Mar 4, 2008)

Bingo, Roger!  I agree that many do not consider a cigarette butt to be litter.  My original thought/question was to wonder why that is.  While I can perhaps see that it is an unconscious reflex to toss a butt, the emptying of a car ashtray at a traffic light or in a parking lot is not.  I wonder if the average "butt-flicker" (don't even go there Karl!! [:0] ) litters in other ways.

Travis, please back off.  I do not want this to be a condemnation of smokers.  As long as no one is blowing smoke in my face or in my house, I consider it a personal choice.


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## Rifleman1776 (Mar 4, 2008)

It is a combination of bad habit and disregard for common decency. Same thing with road littering.
A group of young people, I think from a church, recently picked up cigarette butts from around our county courthouse to demonstrate this problem. With only one hour of collecting, they picked up over 40,000 butts. *FORTY THOUSAND.* And, we are a relatively small community.


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## Russianwolf (Mar 4, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Tonto_
> 
> Pet peeve of mine as well, two thoughts...dollar a pack tax to pay for supervision of sentence to serve types who, when caught throwing a butt get some community service by filling a 55-gallon drum with butts...I would volunteer for the state highway patrol to look for these dudes and write tickets all day...Its bad enough that the outside of most buildings stink of smoke then to have to shuffle through the discards.....smoke in your own home, leave me out of it


better idea. There are 20 cigarettes in a pack right. That's 20 potential butts. Make all stores that sell cigarettes have to have a container to dispose of the butts, and add a refundable $.05 to each cigarette that you buy. (a dollar a pack that you get back when you bring in your 20 used butts).

I bet non-smokers will love picking up those discarded butts then.


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## wdcav1952 (Mar 4, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Russianwolf_
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I for one would not pick up a butt for 5 cents apiece as I would see that as smokers paying me to clean up after them.


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## loglugger (Mar 4, 2008)

But cans near stores would cut down a lot of buts on the ground. Some places have them and most don't around here anymore.
Bob


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## Jarheaded (Mar 4, 2008)

I see people just flick their butts at a can like it will magically fly inside it. Like Frank said, it is a complete disreguard for others. I never allowed smoking in my house and since an incident here, I don't allow smoking on my property either. I just don't want to breathe in anyone elses smoke.


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## TowMater (Mar 4, 2008)

I don't believe littering is acceptable period, smoker or non-smoker is not the issue for me. We don't allow smoking in our house or vehicles, we don't smoke. I think all of the smoking bans are a bunch of crap, either outlaw cigarettes or do away with the bans.

My only problem with smoking is what it's doing to my health care premiums, but that's a different discussion.

TM


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## Rojo22 (Mar 4, 2008)

A guy got out of his car, and threw his cigarette butt on the ground.  I walked over to where he was preparing to enter a store, and asked if he had lost anything.  He walked away with a very quizzical look on his face.  The look was different when he came back out to leave and found the cigarette butt under his windshield wiper blade. 

I think it is great that people provide a method to extinguish and collect others trash.  But I certainly do not think that a business has the obligation to provided a cigarette tank outside of it's business.  The one thing that rubs the wrong way with the throwing of butts out the car is, the individual does not want the "stinking" thing inside of their car, but its ok for the rest of us to have to deal with their trash.

I live on a very busy street, and in the spring and summer try to keep the lawn nice.  I could fill garbage bags full of all the butts thrown out in just my 100 foot road frontage.  It is all down to out of sight, out of mind.


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