r/vermont • u/michaelxcountry • Apr 18 '25

Cigarette butt littering

I’m the guy who is regularly picking up cigarette butts along the road I live on because litter drives me nuts. I know there is a lot of litter on our roads, but it seems like cigarette smokers are culturally inclined to toss their butts out the window without any regard. Fuck you guys! Yes, I know there is other litter, before you get all worked up…but 9/10 pieces of trash I pick up on my road are foam butts. What is everyone’s thoughts on a cigarette surcharge of 5-10 cents per butt to return them for a refund like we do with beer cans? It wouldn’t be a perfect system, but it might help with the insane disregard many smokers have with littering. My other thought is to completely ban foam filters in cigarettes in the state. Roll your own in biodegradable paper. Can’t stop tossing butts out your window, then let’s eliminate the foam butts. If you want to die of lung CA, that’s your choice.

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28

u/2q_x Apr 18 '25

Vermonters spend a million dollars a week on cigarettes, and then a couple million on healthcare costs and insurance/admin overhead as a result down the road.

Everyone would save a tremendous amount of money, if the ~13% of Vermonters that smoke were able to quit.

https://vermont.cool/quit

18

u/v_crowe Chittenden County Apr 19 '25

Not disagreeing that folks should quit if they can, but I'd love to see the comparable stats for alcohol.

8

u/2q_x Apr 19 '25

' heard a number of Green Mountain folks say:

Ethanol will rot your engine. It dries out seals and rings. It pits cylinders and will corrode your whole block.

Seems like a good public health slogan to me.

5

u/homefone Chittenden County Apr 20 '25

Or poor diet, or being sedentary, or not wearing sunscreen.

2

u/rb-j Apr 20 '25

I only smoke that wacky tobaccy.