If a cigarette butt is simply dropped, it can smolder for up to 3 hours. Cigarette smoke contains up to 4,000 chemicals so each second the butt is left alight, dangerous toxins are released into the environment. Cigarette butts contain hazardous chemicals such as cadmium, arsenic and lead that are partially filtered out during the smoking process. When butts are discarded, wind and rain carry them into the water supply. The toxic chemicals they contain are then leached into aquatic ecosystems, threatening the quality of the water and marine life. It may seem small, but with an estimated 4.5 trillion butts (worldwide) littered every year, the toxic chemicals add up.

The attached PDF has useful information, too.

igarette butts are the most commonly discarded piece of waste worldwide. It is estimated that 1.69 BILLION pounds of butts wind up as toxic trash each year, creating an enormous environmental, health, and economic burden.

Contrary to popular belief, cigarette butts are NOT biodegradable! Cigarette butt waste is a huge environmental issue, with a global impact -- it is both unsightly and unhealthy.

Smokefree or tobacco-free policies for beaches, parks, and campuses can help dramatically reduce tobacco waste in these areas.

http://www.no-smoke.org/learnmore.php?id=731

Thank you.

If a cigarette butt is simply dropped, it can smolder for up to 3 hours. Cigarette smoke contains up to 4,000 chemicals so each second the butt is left alight, dangerous toxins are released into the environment. Cigarette butts contain hazardous chemicals such as cadmium, arsenic and lead that are partially filtered out during the smoking process. When butts are discarded, wind and rain carry them into the water supply. The toxic chemicals they contain are then leached into aquatic ecosystems, threatening the quality of the water and marine life. It may seem small, but with an estimated 4.5 trillion butts (worldwide) littered every year, the toxic chemicals add up.

The attached PDF has useful information, too.

Used cigarette butts are not just pieces of non-biodegradable plastic. They also contain the carcinogens, nicotine and toxins found in all tobacco products.

We have found that one cigarette butt soaked in a litre of water for 96 hours leaches out enough toxins to kill half of the fresh or salt water fish exposed to them. We know that children and animals consume these pieces of toxic trash, that there are costs to the communities that must deal with them, and that there is biological plausibility to the idea that so many cigarette butts tossed into the environment each year may leach out chemicals that could impact human health.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229750-200-time-to-kick-cigarette-butts-theyre-toxic-trash/

Good question and informative responses

Thank you Haitham Hmoud Alshibly Sir.

And I am grateful for the responses from

Subhash C. Kundu Sir and Mahmoud Omid Sir.

Cigarettes Butts and the Case for an Environmental Policy on Hazardous Cigarette Waste

Discarded cigarette butts are a form of non-biodegradable litter. Carried as runoff from streets to drains, to rivers, and ultimately to the ocean and its beaches, cigarette filters are the single most collected item in international beach cleanups each year. They are an environmental blight on streets, sidewalks, and other open areas. Rather than being a protective health device, cigarette filters are primarily a marketing tool to help sell ‘safe’ cigarettes. They are perceived by much of the public (especially current smokers) to reduce the health risks of smoking through technology. Filters have reduced the machine-measured yield of tar and nicotine from burning cigarettes, but there is controversy as to whether this has correspondingly reduced the disease burden of smoking to the population. Filters actually may serve to sustain smoking by making it seem less urgent for smokers to quit and easier for children to initiate smoking because of reduced irritation from early experimentation. Several options are available to reduce the environmental impact of cigarette butt waste, including developing biodegradable filters, increasing fines and penalties for littering butts, monetary deposits on filters, increasing availability of butt receptacles, and expanded public education. It may even be possible to ban the sale of filtered cigarettes altogether on the basis of their adverse environmental impact. This option may be attractive in coastal regions where beaches accumulate butt waste and where smoking indoors is increasingly prohibited. Additional research is needed on the various policy options, including behavioral research on the impact of banning the sale of filtered cigarettes altogether...

Article Cigarettes Butts and the Case for an Environmental Policy on...

Hi

Butt really? The environmental impact of cigarettes

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/tc.2011.043729

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2697937/

It says that the filters in the ciggaret butts are not COTTON. Instead, it is a cellulose acetate polymer. It reports that cigarette filters take 18 months to 10 years to degrade. [ http://www.longwood.edu/CLEANVA/cigbuttbiodegradable.htm ]

See attached nice picture [ https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2009/1118/earth-talk-little-cigarette-butts-make-big-litter-impact ]

I agree with the excellent submission of Prof. Mahmoud. Indeed, cigarette, though may not be large in size, is more destructive than a ton of poison! Its negative impacts on the environment makes me miserable anytime I think about it.

Now, the 'electronic cigarettes' are getting popular. Here I have seen more and more 'electronic cigarette' stores pop out. Is this the same trend in your places?? This might reduce the regular cigarette butts. But, it is better not to smoke at all.

I agree with Dr. Ljubomir Jacić