[Gigachad]

What is it with smokers being the most rampant littering offenders? The average person would never consider throwing a chips packet on the ground even if no one was looking, but smokers will happily chuck their butts in the gutter no matter how many people are watching.

[codetrotter]

I don’t smoke usually but, the difference between a bag of chips and a cigarette butt is that the cigarette butt is on fire and smells bad.

You can easily put an empty bag of chips in your pocket or backpack and carry it with you until you find somewhere to dispose of it responsibly.

With a cigarette butt, it’s difficult. And also it’s very small anyways so it may not seem like a big deal.

The solution is to give up smoking. If you stop smoking then you won’t have any more cigarette butts that you need to get rid of.

One neat thing I’ve seen in some places is a “poll” where they ask a question with two alternatives, and they have people put cigarette butts in the compartment corresponding to their choice. Here, the photos on this website explains it better than words: https://ballotbin.co.uk/

[orobinson]

A smoker friend of mine used to carry around one of those little camera film canisters to put his cig butts in. Obviously being careful to extinguish them fully first beforehand so the plastic didn’t get melted.

[jonah]

An Altoids or other metal mint tin would be a small, readily available and, non-flammable alternative.

[mouse_]

Nope, needs to be something intended to be airtight. An altoids tin would still make you stink. Film canister would work, but I would personally worry about the chemicals if I intended to finish the cigarette. Personally, I use the little tubes cannabis pre-rolled joints come in.

[Larrikin]

They make pocket ashtrays for the very specific purpose of keeping cigarette butts in until they can be disposed of properly.

They were a pretty common site in Tokyo until they made outdoor smoking illegal in public areas except in designated areas around the city.

[gernb]

In Japan they introduced pocket ashtrays as fashion. 1000s of different kinds, different brands, etc. I don't know if it had any impact but it was an interesting idea.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%83%9D%E3%82%B1%E3%83%83%...

[TheHappyOddish]

> The solution is to give up smoking. If you stop smoking then you won’t have any more cigarette butts that you need to get rid of.

What a ridiculous solution. That's like saying the solution to reducing road deaths is to stop driving.

[behringer]

Also the more naive smoker may think cigarettes are biodegradable. They are not.

[prawn]

Other than the fact that it's hard to just put in a pocket and carry around until you see a bin, is it that smoking and littering are somewhat impulsive behaviours against better judgement? Someone doing one is inclined to do the other?

[antiatheist]

I'm a semi-occasional smoker, and I never litter the butts, there's usually a bin nearby or I keep it in my pocket and look for one ASAP because they stink awful. Additive-free tobacco smells a lot less though.

You can see other smokers doing it right when there's a bin nearby too, I've questioned them and never get an answer.

I think many people just live so thoughtlessly and carelessly, the rest of the city is dirty so why should they bother? It's really not much of an effort though.

[extra88]

There was enough premeditation to buy cigarettes and have matches or a lighter, not also planning for what to do with the butts is a choice.

[behringer]

If one doesn't give a crap about their health they sure af don't care about your parking lot.

Now your yard? That's just rude.

[throwaway67743]

It also depends how close the nearest bin is, some places/countries are less averse to bins than others (oh no someone might put a bomb in it!), some also cater better for it that others, by adding an almost zero cost metal plate etc to extinguish the cigarette rather than setting the bin on fire, or just providing actual smoking bins/trays as well