Cardiogirl: 19% body fat 100% fun

I was driving to the grocery store yesterday and on my way there I saw a man on the side of a busy road. He was just standing there finishing up a cigarette as the cars whizzed past. When I caught sight of him he was actually blowing out the last bit of smoke opening and closing his mouth as if he were saying the word “bah” over and over. I don’t know if that’s how one creates smoke rings as I never picked up the habit, but I found it intriguing nonetheless.

As he opened and closed his mouth he flicked the end of the cigarette butt into the air with his thumb and forefinger. He did it expertly, as if he had practiced that trick a million times. The cigarette butt flew in the air, in an arc, and I have to admit it was kind of magical watching that cigarette float through the air before it made its descent back to earth.

Would you
look
the other
way if I
rolled down
my window and
casually tossed a fully
loaded, used diaper out the window onto the road behind me?

I was driving about 55 mph at the time and probably witnessed this small act in the space of three to four seconds. I wondered how long it took this guy to learn how to flick his cigarette like that. I wondered if he practiced with small items that approximated the weight of a used cigarette butt or if he felt he had to use an actual cigarette.

I don’t know if he felt the need to walk to the smoldering cigarette and give it a final twist with the ball of his foot or not. I had to focus on the traffic in front of me and I knew I couldn’t find him in my rear view mirror, so I didn’t even try to look back. But I was curious.

So like it usually does, my brain processed that scene and then chewed on the information. By the time I had driven two miles further I was wondering what smokers think of chucking the butt of a cigarette where ever they find themselves when they are finished smoking.

In my opinion, flicking a used cigarette anywhere one wants to is littering. No two ways about it.

I’m sure you’ve all seen a driver on the freeway roll down the window and nonchalantly toss a cigarette butt out. I don’t know what you think of that, but every single time I see it I am amazed. And not in a filled-with-awe-and-wonder kind of way.

Imagine, if you will, you’re cruising down the freeway on the way to a week of vacation. It’s warm out and the sun is shining brightly. I happen to be in the blue minivan ahead of you. Mr. C is keeping up with the flow of traffic and everything is groovy.

Would you look the other way if I rolled down my window and casually tossed a fully-loaded, used diaper out the window onto the road behind me?

No? What if I told you the diaper was biodegradable?

Would you look the other way if I were walking through a parking lot, dropped that same nasty diaper on the ground and then proceeded to mash it into the ground with the ball of my foot?

Throwing a cigarette out the window, in my opinion, is the same thing as throwing a diaper filled with feces out the window. It’s not okay and it shouldn’t be done. Period.

During the summer of 2006, Michigan made a bid to clean our public beaches of litter in general, cigarette butts in particular. According to that article, tobacco-related debris at county parks is one of the “most difficult forms of litter.” What’s more, most people think cigarette butts and filters decompose quickly, but in fact (they) are made with plastics that could take hundreds of years to break down. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

I’m going to admit that the safety of the environment does not contribute one iota to my feelings about littering. It’s just a form of common decency, in my opinion.

Again, if I get a drink from Burger King’s drive-thru, when I am finished with that drink I throw it away in a trash can. I could give a rip about a raccoon or a possum that might choke on my straw. I really could not care less about Michigan’s wildlife. As I’ve clearly stated in the past, those possums should watch their backs around my garbage cans.

Let’s take a little poll, shall we? I’d like to know what you’re thinking.

Okay, if you’re not going to accept it as good manners (and the offenders know who they are) think of it this way. Every time a person smokes a cigarette and discards the butt on the ground, that person leaves his or her DNA on the used cigarette. Now if you’re planning on committing a crime, you’re leaving evidence.

I would imagine, if a smoker was planning on committing an illegal act, that smoker would be anxious right before the event was going to occur. From what I have heard, smoking can offer some relief from the anxiety. Using that argument, I would guess that a nervous smoker, preparing to commit a crime, would calm his or her nerves by lighting up right before breaking and entering.

Smoke, smoke, smoke. Flick the used butt into the air (perhaps employing the magical trick that the Unnamed Man on the Side of the Road used) and get down to business. But not before you left your DNA on the butt. Michael Davis left his DNA behind — it wasn’t a cigarette but, it was his blood — and now he’s in prison.

I know, my readers don’t commit crimes. So this may not be a valid argument.

Just don’t flick a used cigarette butt on the ground, okay? Didn’t your mother teach you that? And if not your mother, your Kindergarten teacher?

So in conclusion, when I am campaigning for President of Cardiogirl World my platform will be no more littering. And no more wildlife digging in trash cans. Let’s bring back civilization in 2008!

Addendum: Mr. C suggested that the tone of this post came off as judgmental against smokers in general. While I support my original statement that flicking used cigarette butts on the ground is unequivocally littering, I’m not taking down the smoker who stubs out the cigarette then puts it in a trash can, ashtray or some socially accepted trash receptacle.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 15th, 2007 at 7:09 am and is filed under Observations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.