ISSUES | A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH LASummer2017 | Page 22

diseases, but what they overlook is what cigarettes do to the environment. Smoking pollutes the
air, but it does not stop there. Discarded cigarette butts are often scattered over the city; in New
York, cigarettes are the most common individual item of litter. The biggest problem concerning
the littering of cigarette buds is that animals or even children might accidentally consume it.
Ingesting cigarette litter could lead to vomiting, respiratory failure and even death. Seeing a
cigarette disappear into a drain may ease the guilt of a litterer, but those cigarettes often find their
way into bodies of water, and eventually, the stomachs of marine wildlife.
In countries such as Singapore and the UK, smoking in work and public places have already
been banned. Other countries have already considered this ban and it has caused much
controversy. I believe smoking in public is just distasteful, and should be banned. New York has
also announced a smoking ban in restaurants and pubs, and Ireland has followed. I hope many
other countries will follow this example and establish a smoking ban in all public places.