£40M ‘FINES’ TO CLEAN UP CIGGIE BUTTS

Plan to sting tobacco giants

MINISTERS are considering a plan to force big tobacco companies to pay the £40million annual cost of cleaning up discarded cigarette butts.

The burden of the cost largely falls on overstretched local councils at the moment. But a new tax on cig firms could help tackle the blight.

Junior Environment minister Rebecca Pow said: “We are exploring how cigarette companies can be held fully accountable for the scourge of litter created by their products. We are committed to making sure that the tobacco industry plays its part.”

The ministry cited research showing that smoking related litter is the most prevalent form of litter in England, making up 68% of all street rubbish.

Imposing a tax on single-use plastic – which a cigarette butt effectively is – would be made possible by a new power currently being legislated for in the Environment Bill.

The move follows attempts to tax chewing gum, which also costs millions to clean off pavements every year.

IT really shouldn’t need saying. But the outside world is not our personal dustbin. So if you’ve got rubbish, either find a bin or take it home with you. And that most certainly includes cigarettes. Streets up and down the country are often strewn with fag butts. So much so the Government is considering asking tobacco manufacturers to foot the bill for their clean-up. But, just like with the proposed chewing gum tax the other day, the responsibility really should lie with smokers. There are no excuses for discarding cig ends on the floor.

It’s just plain selfish.