Cigarette Butts in America

Many organizations devote themselves to cleaning up after others on Earth Day but some do it every day. And one item in particular is a re-occurring sight for street workers like Jim Yorkey. "Litter would be, of course cigarette butts," said Jim Yorkey, a street worker for the city of Elkins. 287 billion cigarettes were sold in the United States last year. And many of those don't make it in the trash, making it the most littered item in America. "Everyone knows somebody that just throws their cigarette butt just right out the window," Yorkey said.

Smoking Drivers Banned

Ii was music to my ears this week to learn that a number of Senators are working to introduce legislation which will finally make it illegal for adults to smoke with children in cars. It's appalling that this selfish and dangerous act has not already been outlawed. At the time that the smoking ban in pubs and restaurants was introduced it should have been a no-brainer however eight years later, parents are still free to drive and puff regardless of their young passengers.

Cigarettes Machines in Kansas

Kansas authorities have pulled the plug on about 20 automated roll-your-own cigarette retail outlets in Kansas, citing fire hazards from the machines.

The Kansas Department of Revenue licenses the venues, which involve dual machines that allow customers to convert bags of loose tobacco and boxes of unfiltered papers into cigarettes. The Kansas State Fire Marshal has issued cease-and-desist letters noting a fire-safety law stipulating cigarettes rolled at commercial establishments had to use a type of paper that resists quick burn rates, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Friday.

Smoking People Rate in Jefferson County, Smoking Areas

The 'smoking booth" outside the Jefferson County courthouse is a busy place.Smokers huddle beneath it when it rains. On pleasant days, they stand around its edges, surrounded by a cigarette haze. A mix of visitors and courthouse employees converge for smoke breaks. Numbers released last week by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation explain the booth's popularity. In Jefferson County, 30 percent of adults smoke.