Cigarette butts at the beach

Cigarette butts are toxiic pollution. During various beach cleans, cigarette butts were identified as the most widely recovered item that littered the beaches.  The filters in cigarettes could be classed as single use plastics and as such should be banned.
Furthermore, there has been no evidence these filters protect people from cancer. However, there is evidence that plastic is causing a devastating effect on our sea and bird life.  The filters are not biodegradable. They do breakdown with UV exposure, but the particles remain in the environment.
Damange to sea and bird life
The damage to sea and bird life is not only done while smoking on the beach. Smoking on the street can also mean discarded butts end up being swept down the storm water drains which ultimately end up in the seas.  Also, birds pick up the butts and ingest them.
en_GBEN
en_GBEN es_ESES