What is it about cigarette smokers in the city of Ventura? Every beach, every sidewalk, every street, every parking lot, every park and every public planter are havens for cigarette butts.

And then there are the cigarette butts that, through the forces of wind and water — rain and sprinklers and hoses — are sent to storm drains, going right to the ocean to tempt sea creatures that mistake them for food. That’s not good.

The cigarette butts have filters made of cellulose acetate, a sort of plastic. Cellulose acetate does not biodegrade for seven to 10 years. They are unsightly on Ventura's environs.

People who produce these cigarette butts need to stop littering. What is 
the fine for littering in Ventura, anyway? Businesses ought to provide outdoor receptacles for the cigarette butts. Barring that, smokers need to collect the cigarette butts in a can and properly dispose of them so they go to the landfills. No cigarette butts should ever be thrown on the ground, the streets, the beach or from cars.

Just be responsible.

— Laurel Hewson, Ventura