Party Over 90 percent find cigarette littering unacceptable
Over 90 percent of Swiss people reject the careless discarding of cigarette butts. Yet more than half of those surveyed believe that cigarette littering is socially acceptable, a study shows.
11.03.2025, 08:42
SDA
This paradox shows how strongly the actual rejection is underestimated, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Stop2drop reported on Tuesday. 16 percent of the smokers surveyed stated that they usually throw their cigarettes on the ground if there is no litter garbage can nearby. A tenth reported that they always throw their cigarette butts on the ground when they smoke in public spaces. This corresponds to around 210,000 people in Switzerland.
Many people are not aware of how harmful cigarette butts are to nature, the report continued. The butts contain toxins such as heavy metals and nicotine, which endanger plants, animals and groundwater. The nicotine in a cigarette butt can be detected in 1000 liters of water.
The filters also break down into harmful microplastics that remain in the environment for centuries. Swiss municipalities spend 52 million francs of taxpayers' money every year on the disposal of cigarette butts. According to the NGO, there are also many cigarette butts in playgrounds, which pose a danger to small children.
As part of the study, the research institute Sotomo, in cooperation with Stop2drop, surveyed over 2,600 people. On Tuesday, the NGO launched its third national cigarette butt collection challenge. The aim is to collect one million cigarette butts in Switzerland by March 25.
