Earth Day is celebrated by millions of people advocating for the land, air, water and built environments on which we depend. The work of protecting the environment is never complete. A necessary part of this protection includes cleaning up the damage already done to our natural world and preventing further destruction through local environmental initiatives.
In recognition of Earth Day, Jefferson County Public Health and tobacco prevention advocates across Jefferson County are encouraging everyone to take steps to clean up the tobacco litter that negatively impacts the environment. It is estimated that several trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide every year, flicked one at a time on our sidewalks, parks, playgrounds, trails and other public places.In fact, cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world with an estimated 1.69 billion pounds of butts littered globally each year (1). Not only does cigarette litter ruin even the most picturesque setting, but the toxic residue in cigarette filters is damaging to the environment and dangerous to animals and people. Cigarette filters can take decades to degrade (2) and research from San Diego State University found that just one discarded butt is toxic enough to kill all the marine life in one liter of seawater (3).
Tobacco production and use threatens our national and global environment. Tobacco production causes global deforestation, requiring nearly 600 million trees annually to provide fuel for drying tobacco. This translates into one tree being destroyed for every 300 cigarettes produced (4). In our nation, the US Fire Administration reported that discarded cigarettes resulted in fire departments responding to an estimated 90,000 smoking-material fires resulting in an estimated 540 deaths, 1,640 injuries and $621 million in direct property damage in 2011 (5).
In addition to the harmful impact traditional cigarettes have on the environment, inappropriately discarded electronic smoking devices also harm the environment. A study of 23 disposable e-cigarettes found that some of the used devices meet the thresholds to qualify as hazardous waste. All unused e-cigarettes containing e-juice qualify as hazardous waste upon disposal. Despite their small size, disposable e-cigarettes are consumed and discarded more quickly than typical electronics, which may become a growing concern for waste managers (6).
Leaders from both the public health and park and recreation fields make a strong argument for keeping parks tobacco-free because of the dangers of secondhand smoke and tobacco litter as well as the importance of modeling healthy behaviors to youth (7). In preparation for this year’s Earth Day, Breathe Easy Team students from Wheat Ridge and Lakewood High Schools participated in the cleanup of two parks in Jefferson County last month during the 5th annual 2015 Cigarette Butt Pick-Up organized by Jefferson County Public Health. Collectively, the students picked up 6,498 cigarette butts in only 45 minutes. The Cigarette Butt Pick-Up helped to raise awareness about the impact of tobacco on the environment and involve young people in the movement to create healthier, tobacco-free communities in Jefferson County.
This Earth Day, we urge you to consider the impact of tobacco on the natural world while supporting the movement to create a healthier community by taking some of the following steps:
- If you are a tobacco user, properly dispose of all tobacco litter.
- Explore helpful fact sheets from the Legacy Foundation about the impact tobacco has on the environment.
- Get involved in local tobacco prevention coalitions including the Tobacco-Free Jeffco Alliance or Breathe Easy (BE) Teams for youth. Together we can clean up and protect our environment from the far-reaching toll of tobacco. To learn more about getting involved, visit www.tobaccofreejeffco.com, email tobaccofree@jeffco.us or call 303-275-7555.
Resources to help with quitting tobacco:
o For telephone support, coaching and resources to help you or a loved one become tobacco-free; call the Colorado QuitLine at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669). The QuitLine also offers web-based support at www.coquitline.org. This free service provides information and tools to develop your own personal plan for quitting.
o The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment offers www.TobaccoFreeCO.org, an online web hub that connects visitors to a variety of resources and topics including cessation services and information on preventing secondhand smoke exposure and youth tobacco use.
o COQuitMobileis a free text-based program that places you on the path to a life free from tobacco.
o Attend a free tobacco cessation group hosted by Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge on Tuesdays at 12:00 p.m. This is a six week drop-in group that provides adults who want to quit smoking with tools and support to achieve their goals. (You do not need to attend all six weeks in order to participate.)
o You may also visit the Thinking of Quitting pageon the Tobacco-Free Jeffco Website for a list of additional resources and videos that will encourage and help you to quit.
Jefferson County Public Health’s Tobacco Prevention Initiative is working with students, parents and community members to educate about the harms of tobacco in our communities and to promote tobacco-free living. For more information or to get involved, please visit: www.tobaccofreejeffco.com,
email us at tobaccofree@jeffco.us or call Donna Viverette at 303-275-7555.