Cigarette litter surge follows smoking ban

12:07pm Thursday 13th September 2007

Comments (12)   Have your say »

ALMOST 70 per cent of North West councils have suffered a surge in cigarette litter on their streets since the smoking ban was introduced.

That's according to Keep Britain Tidy, which today revealed the amount of cigarette ends blighting our streets shot up by 43 per cent since the start of the ban.

Ginette Unsworth from Keep Britain Tidy said: "We always knew the smoking ban would have a negative affect on the state of our streets - but it's surprising just how much.

"It's vital businesses, authorities and individuals do what they can to stop the streets being littered with butts."

To beat the butt blight Keep Britain Tidy is launching a campaign next Monday, September 17, to encourage smokers to dispose of their cigarette rubbish responsibly - reminding them if they do not bin their butts they could be hit with an £80 fine.

Posters with a dropped cigarette end covered in camouflage print and using the strap line "however you disguise it, it's still litter" is one of three ads that will be appearing in bus shelters, bar toilets and phone boxes across the North West.