Maybe if there were receptables available to dispose of the butts, there would be less to clean up!

I'm tired of seeing cigarette butts everywhere. I bring my dog, and if she poops on the trail nowhere near a garbage can, I carry the poop in a bag UNTIL I get to one. I think it's much easier for a smoker to do the same thing but for their cigarette butts. When I see cigarette butts laying around the park on the trails I just think of lazy, ignorant Americans. Please carry around a ziplock bag and put your butts in there until you come to a garbage can. It's not that hard. But if people are too dumb or lazy to do this, then, smoking should be banned. Smokers have only brought it on themselves. Also, I see a lot of other dog poop on the trail, and that makes me mad. If other dog owners don't start cleaning up after their dogs, then the state parks will ban dogs. SO PLEASE don't be ignorant. CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR DOG. Even if you have to carry it in a bag for awhile. This is called responsibility.

Another Anti-Smoking Hoax Debunked. Those cigarette filters are 100% biodegradable.

The cigarette butt menace was created to support outdoor smoking bans because many non-smokers will accept that secondhand smoke is not harmful in an outdoor setting.

The anti-smoking zealots admit that the tobacco and paper in cigarette butts are biodegradable, but claim that the cellulose acetate cigarette filters are a plastic, like styrofoam and polystyrene, and will contaminate the earth forever. This is not true. Cellulose acetate is a wood product. It is completely degradable through biological, chemical, and photo chemical degradation mechanisms.

Sorry, I don't have a nice, easy to read MSM news article to give you. I have research papers from cellulose acetate manufacturers. Ann W., a commentor to a Dick Puddlecote article, put me onto this. http://dickpuddlecote.blogspot.com/2011 ... found.html

http://www.acetateweb.com/pdf/Environme ... ilters.pdf
"STUDY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION OF CIGARETTE FILTERS: A simulation of the Roadside or Parking Lot Environment." Stephen K. Haynes, et al,\., Research Laboratories, Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport Tenn.

"In recent years there has been increasing public awareness of items which may be discarded as litter with particular attention being given to cigarette filters. Some studies have concluded that when cigarette filters are introduced into the environment, they either do not degrade or degrade very slowly. Previous work in our laboratories has demonstrated that cigarette filters biodegrade readily in environments where mixed microbial populations can thrive. The purpose of this study was to examine the changes occurring in cigarette filters over time in an environment similar to that of a parking lot or roadside area. In this environment, exposure to sunlight, moisture and wind occur, but there is limited exposure to microbial attack ... "

"CONCLUSIONS: Previous work has demonstrated that cigarette filters biodegrade readily in environments where mixed microbial populations can thrive. This work demonstrates that current commercial cigarette filters also degrade when exposed to an environment which is not optimal for microbial biodegradation."

Another Anti-Tobacco Hoax Debunked. Those cigarette filters are 100% biodegradable.

The cigarette butt menace was created to support outdoor smoking bans because many non-smokers will accept that secondhand smoke is not harmful in an outdoor setting.

The anti-smoking zealots admit that the tobacco and paper in cigarette butts are biodegradable, but claim that the cellulose acetate cigarette filters are a plastic, like styrofoam and polystyrene, and will contaminate the earth forever. This is not true. Cellulose acetate is a wood product. It is completely degradable through biological, chemical, and photo chemical degradation mechanisms.

It is not just cigarette butts. Why should I, as a non-smoker, have to smell the foul odor of cigarette smoke? I know that many smokers say I should move away from them and that they have rights. BUT, I also have the right to smell non-polluted air.
If they want to smoke, do it in their own private space where they don't bother anyone else.

I am amazed at the amount of people that think it is okay for the state to discriminate against a certain group of people. Would it be okay for the state to ban people of color at state parks too?
I have never smoked in my life. I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke. When I visit relatives that smoke, I have to shower and change when I get home to get the vile smell off of me. I do ban smoking in my home, because it is my home and I can do whatever I want. It comes down to property rights.
If a restaurant or bar wants to allow or ban smoking in their establishment, that is up to them. It is their business and they should be able to run it as they see fit.
The state should not be able to discriminate against a group of people for using a legal substance from which they get tax revenues. Both smokers and non-smokers own the state parks.
I despise smokers that throw their butts on the ground or out of their cars. There used to be a PA hotline number that you could call to report the license plates of litterers. The state shut it down because "all they calls they received were about smokers and not people throwing garbage out their windows" thereby lessening the stigma of cigarette butts as litter.
Banning smoking is not the way to go forward. Strict enforcement and heavy fines for littering are. When smokers are being fined $500 for throwing their butts on the ground, they will stop, or pay.
Better yet, 100 hours of community service, cleaning up cigarette butts.

Again, stop littering your butts and to the dog owners, clean up after your dog. If everyone did this and carried around a bag in their pocket to dispose of the items, our parks would be cleaner. Maybe at the start of all trail heads at these state parks, the park service can provide baggies by a garbage can. This might make more people use the system I described and then EVERYONE can enjoy the park.

As long as butts don't hit the ground and immediately disappear its littering. I don't care of they are biodegradable. Orange peels are biodegradeable I can't walk around throwing them on sidewalks.

I do not like getting out of my car, or walking to my car, and smelling cigarette smoke with my kids after an afternoon in the great outdoors, inhaling fresh air and getting exercise. This just happened yesterday with us at Jacobsburg; someone was smoking before getting ready to walk the dog in the woods. These places should be preserved and kept as pristine as possible. I consider cigarette smoke an infringement on that environment--notwithstanding all the conversation (needed and important) about whether or not the butts are biodegradable. Sorry, smokers.

Most people go to parks for a nice walk, fresh air, and relax with family. It all gets ruined by one inconsiderate smoker who doesn't care about the air you breath or which direction the wind is blowing and the fumes permeate a huge area. I agree the butts are out of control, consider the source of someone who doesn't take care of themselves, why should they care about the rest of us. The very sad truth . . .

Its really sad to see people that would be for something so insane to start with as a outdoor smoking ban. Even the indoor bans are rediculous and based upon JUNK SCIENCE!

If your going to ban cig smoke inside or out your going to have to ban RESTARAUNT SMOKE,AUTO EMISSIONS,BAR-B-QUES,FIREWORKS..........youd even have to outlaw your own breathing as even your breath contains chemicals simular to that of cig smoke naturally! Yes its just that stupid! Emissions of naturally occuring chemicals are in everything,the natural air/clean air is made up of the same broken down natural chemicals as even tobacco smoke when its burned...........There never was any harm from second hand smoke.........They literally made it all up!

If you’re afraid of second-hand smoke, you should also avoid cars, restaurants…and don’t even think of barbecuing.

here are just some of the chemicals present in tobacco smoke and what else contains them:

Arsenic, Benzine, Formaldehyde.

Arsenic- 8 glasses of water = 200 cigarettes worth of arsenic

Benzine- Grilling of one burger = 250 cigarettes

Formaldehyde – cooking a vegetarian meal = 100 cigarettes

When you drink your 8 glasses of tap water (64 ounces) a day, you're safely drinking up to 18,000 ng of arsenic by government safety standards of 10 nanograms/gram (10 ng/gm = 18,000ng/64oz) for daily consumption.

Am I "poisoning" you with the arsenic from my cigarette smoke? Actually, with the average cigarette putting out 32 ng of arsenic into the air which is then diluted by normal room ventilation for an individual exposure of .032 ng/hour, you would have to hang out in a smoky bar for literally 660,000 hours every day (yeah, a bit hard, right?) to get the same dose of arsenic that the government tells you is safe to drink.

So you can see why claims that smokers are "poisoning" people are simply silly.

You can stay at home all day long if you don’t want all those “deadly” chemicals around you, but in fact, those alleged 4000-7000 theorized chemicals in cigarettes are present in many foods, paints etc. in much larger quantities. And as they are present in cigarettes in very small doses, they are harmless. Sorry, no matter how much you like the notion of harmful ETS, it’s a myth.

You are putting just way to much thought and energy into justifying killing yourself with cigarettes. I bet you are smoking while making this story. I drink filtered water which is far far cleaner than the TAR you are coating your lungs with that will eventually take your life. You have the will to quit, and I know as an X smoker it is hard, but you will hate cigarettes as much as I do once you succeed. Good luck, live long and prosper.

I'm a pretty big hippie. I pick up cigarette butts along the trail when I'm walking. I also pick up wrappers to granola bars, empty bottles of Gatorade ... I even picked up a McDonalds bag once. Should we ban all these things from parks as well? Because, honestly, even if Mr. Davidson is wrong (and I doubt he is), a Gatorade bottle is a hell of a lot worse. Maybe the parks could just attempt to educate users a little better.

Smokers should eat their butts...you guys like the taste so much...have some more!!

When I go to a state park to enjoy the fresh air and outdoorts, it is ruined by smelling other people's smoke. I agree that it is nice to have trash cans to dispose of trash, but just like the person who carries their dog poop in a bag until it can be disposed of, smokers should have the same courtesy.

Local and state government is corrupt, our higher educational system is now best known for raping young boys, the States finances are a mess so what do politicians come up with to distract us, a favorite passtime, beat up the smoker! Tune in next month.....beat up the fat kid, let's ban McDonald wrappers in state parks, and newspapers, ban newspapers and there would be less trash and people won't realize that our politicians are incompetent except when it comes to ripping the taxpayer off.

Okay I will add one thing here, to the ones saying throw cigarette butts in a trash can, have you never ever been taught fire safety? You do not put a cigarettw butt in with paper. You normally use what is called an ashtray or those fancy containers they use for cigarettes butts and hot ashes and will not burn. The ones that throw cigarettes butts in trash cans cause some nice fires, then you ould complain your parks burned. Give smokers the same courtesy you would like, or do not expect courtesy from us, because we will complain about everything you do. Some people do not understand treat others as you would like to be treated because they sure fail to give people respect because they smoke. Like one said, take a look around smokers are not the only litter bugs, when you find food containers and wrappers everywhere also. So you want our cigarettes banned do not eat food in the parks either because you litter food containers and food also draws wildlife.

I can't believe you are trying to justify your littering by saying 1) you don't want to start a fire or, 2) everybody else litters, or 3) don't criticize smokers or we'll start criticizing things you do.

Please.

Another freedom taken away. Think about it folks. What will you say when marshall law is imposed on YOU?

Too many bans on cigarettes. I'm not a smoker but really it is out of hand.
YES--littering is a problem, whether cigarettes or some other item discarded in parks.

As much as I dislike smoking, I don't want it banned for others.
Isn't that what America is about?.....Freedom

Freedom does not mean freedom to impose on others. Smokers impose their smoke on people who do not want to breathe it. That is an action of imposition. Non-smokers are doiing nothing to the air therefore they are not imposing anything on anyone. They are simply passively breathing.

i too am only trying to "passively breath" every time I have to be next to someone who has drenched themselves in a perfume product. It is not only an imposition, but for someome who has allergies and sinus problems is a health hazard. Lets then ban all perfume products.

Since we are going off track a little bit, I would like to share something that happened to me a few years ago. I was in the hospital for knee surgery and a number of very kind friends sent flowers. One of the bouquets contained the Asiatic Lillies that are so fragrant. After having them in the room for about 4 hours the nurse came in and asked if they could be taken home. A few of the girls at the nurses station(outside my room) could not handle the smell. Of course they went home. So if you have someone in the hospital you might want to remember not to send "fragrant flowers". As much as I love them, I would not want to make anyone sick.