The proposed tobacco legislation and also my comments in my earlier epistle have overlooked on e enormous factor: the damage to The Grand Old Lady, otherwise known as our environment.
As I was walking on the beach the other day I saw a girl put her butt on the beach.
The butt I’m talking about is not her derriere, but rather the synthetic end of a cigarette, which is supposed to help alleviate the intake of destructive tar, nicotine and carcinogens that impact the inhaler. She had a collection of them deposited next to her in the sand.
Continuing my walk I saw numerous cigarette remnants prevalently sticking out of and laying on top of the sand in heavily frequented places.
There’s been public indignation in the past about dog waste on the beach but what about these synthetic-laden cancer sticks that don’t decompose but ooze toxins out into the environment?
I’m not trying to say that my example is in any way acceptable. It’s not.
However, dog waste is organic and won’t exist in the distant future whereas the filter-ends of cigarettes will.
The second place that I see these butts being thrown: from car windows of smokers on the road. Not wanting the stench or remnant inside their cars, they toss the filter ends out onto the roads and perimeters.
And, thirdly, the final resting spot for these cancer sticks – our landfill – where they further release their chemicals and carcinogens into the environment. There they reside with the other unwanted items of society.
Let’s look at the math on how these butts impact Grand Cayman. There are approximately 52,000 inhabitants.
From t his number there is a percentage of smokers. I’m going to be conservative and base my percentage on those individuals not in favour of smoking legislation.
Therefore, let me estimate that 25 per cent of our population smokes or 13,000 individuals.
And, let me further say that each smoker, on the average, smokes a pack-and-a-half a day. This would calculate to 30 butts per smoker to dispose of each day, or 390,000 butts per day for the smoking population of this Island.
In one year’s time this would roll to 142,350,000 cigarette butts to dispose of in one way or another. If there are a larger percentage of smokers, one can easily expand the math.
Hopefully, our legislators, as well as the DoE, will incorporate the environmental impact to our Island into this upcoming legislation. Then, the only butts that will be seen on the beach will be the ones that should be there!
Michael Manish
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