WHY IS NO BUTTS AN URGENT TOUR FOR EVERYONE – AND ESPECIALLY FOR SMOKERS?
Because everyday cigarette butts are dropped on our streets, go down our drains, into local waters, and leach into our soil. They endanger fish, birds, plants, and ultimately, humans. Butts are the second largest category of litter and number 4.5 trillion worldwide annually. Filters are not biodegradable. They are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that breaks down into microplastics, are eaten by fish, become part of their flesh, and are then consumed by humans. The filters contain lead, cadmium, and arsenic which kill fish and other wildlife. For humans, such toxins have been found to damage young brains and cause cancer, skin lesions, and cardiovascular disease.
And did you know that the problem is urgent because the filters in cigarettes do not protect smokers, but smokers think they do? According to experts at the NRDC (Natural Resource Defense Council) “Although filters may give the impression of a healthier product, they do not, in fact, make cigarettes safer. Filters do not improve impacts on smokers, nor do they lessen the destructive impact of tobacco use. They are simply a marketing device. If anything, filters create a more dangerous product. Because the sensation of filtered smoking feels less harsh, smokers tend to smoke more of the product and inhale more deeply. Those deeper inhalations draw the carcinogens in the smoke further into the lung tissue.”* “A 2017 study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reviewing recent medical literature on the topic concluded that “filter ventilation has contributed to the rise in lung adenocarcinomas among smokers,” one of the most dangerous forms of lung cancer…” **
*Kicking Butts: NY Bill Proposes Banning Filtered Cigarettes
**Cigarette Butt Litter Solutions
Report and interview with Joyce Bialik: by Rosemary Misdary, WNYC
Foes Of The Single-Use Filter — Meet The New Yorkers Who Want To Eliminate The Cigarette Butt
Phase 1 of our NO BUTTS tour consisted of three collection and counting events, each lasting 2 hours with 3-5 collectors.
Number of butts collected over 2hrs on 12/19/2021
phase 1 Tour dates & Locations
11/21, 12-2PM STARTING AT RIVERSIDE DRIVE & 135TH STREET
11/21, 2:30-4:30PM STARTING AT SIXTH AVENUE & 42ND STREET
12/5, 12-2PM STARTING AT CENTRAL PARK WEST & 96TH STREET
12/5, 2:30-4:30PM STARTING AT THE NE CORNER OF BROADWAY & 17TH STREET
12/19, 12:00-4:00PM STARTING AT 99TH STREET & MADISON AVE
Smokers received a free pocket ashtray. Building Managers were instructed to contact Joyce at ResidentialRecycle@protonmail.com to obtain a free butt receptacle and learn to recycle the butts.
SAMPLE Survey
Did you know about the health and environmental impacts of filters on smokers and non-smokers before reading this message? Do you support a ban on the sale of filter cigarettes? Please take our brief survey.
Are you a smoker? ____ Yes ____ No
Did you know about the health and environmental impacts of filters on smokers and non-smokers before reading this message? ____ Yes ___No
Did you know that cigarette filters do not lessen the impact of smoking and in fact contribute to a dangerous form of lung cancer? ____ Yes ___ No
There will be a 2022 bill in the New York State legislature that supports banning filter cigarettes. Do you support the bill? ___ Yes _____No