India: 31L Cigarette Butts Tossed into City''s Muck Daily

Source from:  The Times of India 12/14/2015

It's not just food leftovers, plastic and sanitary waste that make it to Bengaluru's garbage piles. Around 31 lakh cigarettebeedi butts contribute to the city's waste every day.

The revelation has come to light through a study conducted by the Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru. These cigarette remnants are neither segregated nor collected, and that is taking a toll on both our health and the environment, claim doctors.

Dr Vishal Rao, an oncologist working with HCG Oncology , Bengaluru, said: "There are no known processes of collecting and segregating cigarette butts in the city or the state. Apart from nicotine, these butts contain 6,000 to 7,000 toxins from metals like cadmium, arsenic and lead. Out of these, 70 toxins are carcinogenic. They not only pose a high risk to public health but also affect the environment in the worst possible way ."

"A research conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows 25% to 50% of the litter accumulated in the streets of our country comprises tobacco-related residues, out of which, smoked cigarette and bidi butts are major components, which are toxic and non-biodegradable," he added.

Dr Banu Prakash AS, consultant neuro surgeon and spine surgeon, said: "With around 100 billion non-biodegradable cigarette butts getting disposed into the soil every year, toxins seep in and contaminate groundwater, lakes and streams, thereby leading to severe pollution." "They affect wildlife, birds and marine life too," he said.

M Mahesh, a member of Karnataka Swaraj Jana Sangathan, said: "I filed a complaint with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) last month, inform ing them about the presence of a huge concentration of nicotine and dangerous chemical residues in the soil and groundwater. However, I didn't get a response."

"Both the Centre and the state governments should take steps for proper management of tobacco-related waste, especially smoked cigarettes and beedi butts. Cigarette companies should be compelled to collect the used butts, segregate them and find ways of recycling them," he added.

Smuggled cigarettes worth Rs 25L seized

Customs officials on Tuesday seized Rs 25 lakh worth of smuggled import ed cigarettes in simultaneous raids across the city. Based on intelligence inputs, the raids were conducted in 13 places and 63 varieties of cigarettes, smuggled from over 9 countries, were confiscated.

Foreign cigarettes are cheaper compared to locally manufactured ones, but they attract heavy duties. Smuggled cigarettes are sold at cheap rates in the grey market.

Besides not paying duty, the cigarette packs did not have the statutory pictorial warning on them, which amounts to violation of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade & Commerce Production, Supply & Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTP Act, 2003). Enditem