Araújo MCB, Costa MF. A critical review of the issue of cigarette butt pollution in coastal environments.
Araújo MCB, Costa MF. A critical review of the issue of cigarette butt pollution in coastal environments. Environmental Research, Volume 172, May 2019, Pages 137-149. More information
This paper provides a discussion of several dimensions of tobacco product wastes in coastal areas and calls for coordinated action to reduce or eliminate this serious problem.
“The aim of this review was to bring together the complexity of the issue to kick start a discussion on how to act in a coordinated way to reduce this type of pollution on beaches and other coastal and aquatic environments. We call for the attention of stakeholders … to reduce this grave environmental risk.
Reducing beach/marine pollution from tobacco products is a complex issue that requires interventions beyond environmental stakeholders and conventional comfort zones, but it must be done. We believe the way forward is convincing people of the toxicity of cigarettes and their ability to damage health as well as their risks to the environment and regional economies. These problems must be addressed at the same level of importance as lung cancer or mortality, and the tobacco industry must assume its share of responsibility for pollution prevention/cleaning/compensation….”
