Dubai
It has come to my notice that many smokers do not dispose their cigarettes properly. This disgraceful habit is not a recent problem, but has been persisting for a while.
Many times you can see people smoking in their cars, not paying any heed to their surroundings. As a result, many smokers dispose their cigarette butts out of their car, not knowing the dangers behind it. Smokers also continue to throw cigarette butts in many nooks, crannies and narrow pathways. These paths are completely hidden in piles of cigarette butts (as seen in photograph).
We can observe many cigarette butts lying on the ground in or around crowded areas, such as around some of the Dubai Metro stations. My observations near the Al Fahidi Metro Station and the Dubai Airport Free Zone Metro Station had left me in thought about this prevailing problem. Most of the cigarette butts are disposed in sandy areas or in the soil that plants are grown in and tended to by the authorities. It is truly a devastating sight to witness such alluring flower beds interspersed with litter.
The leftover cigarette butts contain highly toxic substances, which are harmful for the environment. It is also shameful to think what the impression of a tourist using these Metro stations might be.
In crowded areas, lack of a dustbin might be the reason that people throw the butts on the ground. But, I’ve seen cigarettes strewn across the area even in the presence of a dustbin, which is unacceptable.
A smoker gives no thought to the whopping amount of pollution they contribute to after every cigarette. Smokers should not only give thought to the environment, but also pay attention to the harm they are causing to the people around them.
People should be vigilant and should partake in developing the sense of a cleaner city as responsible citizens. Awareness should be implemented at every level. Cigarette manufacturers as well as retailers should make a visible effort in trying to stop this habit. Several clean-up drives and awareness campaigns have been organised to address this issue, but the efforts prove to be incapable in motivating smokers to the extent that they at least stop littering. A community effort would prove crucial in encouraging a large part of the smokers.
— The reader is a student based in Dubai.
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