Angus green group calls for public places smoking ban.

ANGUS: Pressure group concerned cigarette butts could stub out marine life

Cigarette butts threatening to stub out marine life on the Angus coastline has prompted calls for a ban on smoking in all public spaces.

Pressure group Angus Clean Environments (ACE) believes the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces should be extended to tackle the impact on wildlife and the environment.

Wendy Murray of ACE made the call in the wake of the Great Angus Beach Clean and the Angus Coastal Festival which concluded with a clean-up at Montrose yesterday.

She said: “The ban on smoking in enclosed public places has created a problem in the marine environment due to the vast amount of cigarette butts being discarded in streets and at local beauty spots.

“These discarded cigarettes eventually enter the drainage system and continue to the sea. Many people sit on benches in parks and open spaces to enjoy Scotland’s beautiful landscape but then discard their cigarette butts on the ground.

“These eventually find their way into the marine environment.

“ACE believe that the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces should be extended to include a ban on smoking in all public spaces.”

The total weight picked up during the second Great Angus Beach Clean was 1.5 tonnes, including cigarette butts which can take 10 to 12 years to degrade, as well as dispersing microplastics.

Councillor Julie Bell, Angus Council’s habitat champion for marine litter, urged smokers to change their behaviour before it’s too late.

She said: “None of us can do this alone but every little thing each of us does is part of a much bigger picture. We were delighted that around 25 people arrived

Many people sit on benches in parks and open spaces then discard their cigarette butts on the ground.

WENDY MURRAY

at Victoria Park, Arbroath, for a litter pick, but appalled we found so many cigarette ends. While it’s great that people are walking there or enjoying the view from their cars, it’s clear that flicking their butts is having a massive impact on the immediate environment and therefore further afield.

“Please, take your cigarette ends home – as the former tobacco control lead for Angus, I’m really keen to see us reach out to smokers a stage at a time.

“This has certainly provided some ideas for developing a local approach to debris on beaches and smokers.”

The SNP member for Kirriemuir also commended everyone who took part in all the Great Angus Beach Clean and Angus Coastal Festival activity, including local schoolchildren.

She said dog mess and discarded plastic bottles were among the debris.

The issue of plastics and the damage they are causing to the environment continues to make headlines. However, a local pressure group has turned its attention to another common pollutant.

Angus Clean Environments is so concerned about the number of cigarette butts being washed into drains and making their way into the wider marine systems that it has called for an outright ban on cigarettes in public places.

It will be a step too far for many, but in a time of climate crisis such radical solutions may have to be considered.