If the ashtray is full...
Don't use the street!
Cracow-life.com, the Krakow Post newspaper and associated publications have joined the growing ranks of media producers supporting a campaign against litter in the city caused by cigarette smokers.
The organisation Miasto bez Niedopałków, which is behind the campaign, said that across Poland 16 billion cigarette butts each year accounted for 60 per cent of all litter. The organisation wants to raise public awareness of the problem, and encourage local authorities to crack down on smokers who use the city streets as an ashtray.
Miasto bez Niedopałków also cited the dangers of cigarette butts, which contain more than 3,000 chemicals, many deadly to animals and plants. The campaigners believe that it takes up to 15 years for a cigarette butt to decompose, and was worried that many made their way to rivers and the sea, via Krakow’s sewers.
However, the organisation’s mission statement says this is not an ‘anti-smoking policy’. It added: “We support the current ban on smoking in public places, as well as non-smokers’ right to enjoy a smoke-free environment. We also support the right of smokers to smoke (with a warning against the dangers to health) as long as they respect the rights of others and dispose of their cigarette butts responsibly.”