Cigarette Butts Are The Worst Ocean Contaminant: Report

CALIFORNIA – From plastic bags to plastic straws, environmentalists and lawmakers have targeted single-use plastics in an effort to reduce waste and stop ocean pollution.

California was the first state to ban most stores from providing customers with single-use plastic bags. The Golden State was also the first state to go strawless in full-service restaurants.

But what about cigarette butts?

Cigarette butts are the worst man-made contaminant of the world's oceans, according to a 2018 NBC News report. Cigarette butts have long been the single most collected item on beaches, according to the report, with an estimated total of more than 60 million collected over 32 years.

Many environmentalists have called for a ban on plastic-based cigarette filters, which tobacco companies introduced in the mid-1900s as a marketing tool to lessen concerns over cigarette smoke hazards, according to a Forbes report. However, cigarette filters have been shown to have no health benefits.

"It's pretty clear there is no health benefit from filters. They are just a marketing tool. And they make it easier for people to smoke," Thomas Novotny, a professor of public health at San Diego State University, told NBC News.

"It's also a major contaminant, with all that plastic waste. It seems like a no-brainer to me that we can't continue to allow this."

Read the full report.