Smokers to get butts off street

BRANDED the country’s latest litter louts, smokers claim they now want to clean up their act.

Eight out of 10 smokers who took part in a nationwide survey said they wanted to take responsibility for littering our streets.

The survey, by British-based ashtray manufacturer Stubbi, shows 60% of Irish smokers admit to dropping cigarette butts on the street since the smoking ban was introduced at the end of March.

By their own admission, 22% of smokers littered the streets more than 50 times in the past year.

Not surprisingly, the general population take a dim view of the visual effects of the ban: 61% of people said the streets had grown dirtier over the four weeks since the ban came into effect.

However, the majority 82% would say nothing if they saw someone dropping a cigarette on the street, according to the survey. Some 62% of smokers admitted they would be embarrassed if asked to pick up their cigarette but would pick it up.

The survey was conducted in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Waterford. Smokers aged 18 to 35 were questioned.

Tipperary-born Ian McCormack heads the Stubbi company which manufactures and distributes a range of portable disposable ashtrays.

The new soft compact pouch, retailing at €3.50, is designed to make it easy for the on the move smoker to safely dispose of cigarette butts.

Campaigning group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) has urged local authorities to step up enforcement against people who discard butts when they leave pubs and restaurants for a smoke.

IBAL found street litter has increased by 20% since the smoking ban came into operation at midnight on March 31.