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How eliminating something as simple as a cigarette butt can help make the planet a little healthier

In order to ensure that our world is still around for our children's children, we as a society have been making real efforts to think more environmentally friendly. It comes at little surprise that those in the smoking community would also begin to embrace the green movement.

By switching from analog to electronic cigarettes, not only can you lower your environmental footprint by reducing the amount of trash (in the form of cigarette butts, cigarette packages, etc.) in our landfills, but you can also help to cut down on several other forms of pollution both in terms of manufacturing and consumption.

Cigarette butts: trash, trash everywhere

Trillions of cigarettes are produced around the globe every year. With this many cigarettes produced, every person could smoke over 785 cigarettes a year. This all equates to a mountain worth (2 billion pounds annually to be exact) of discarded cigarette butts. While cigarette butts will break down to a point after 12 years, various toxic chemicals are not so biodegradable will remain for much longer.

The U.S. does what it can to help clean up all of this trash by spending an estimated $11.5 billion per year to clean up litter. However, it is estimated that cigarette butts make up roughly 38% of litter worldwide (making it the most littered item), so it is an uphill battle to take care of the litter problem.

Chances are that improperly discarded cigarette butt will end up washed or blown into a lake, creek or water reservoir where it will leach toxic chemicals. Unfortunately, this process can have disastrous consequences for the inhabitants of the ecosystem—mostly by animals mistaking cigarette butts as food and become poisoned.

This short video can provide more information.

A butt-free world by using electronic cigarettes rather than traditional

An absence of tobacco cigarettes would equal an absence of cigarette butts. While it is true that e-cigarettes have parts that are disposable, they are made primarily of plastics, which mean some parts are recyclable.

Since most electronic cigarette cartomizers equals roughly 40 cigarettes (...or 2 packs), vapers can greatly reduce the amount of trash (in the form of cigarette butts and cigarette packages) they produce. Moreover, many electronic cigarettes can be cleaned and refilled before each use—increasing the useful life and reducing the amount of trash. At the end of an e-cigarette's useful life, the components can be recycled like batteries, phones and other electronics.

Rebuttal: "Won't vapers improperly dispose of their components?"

There are always bad apples in society, so, yes, some e-cigarette users will improperly dispose of their cartomizers and batteries.

However, it is illegal in many places to discard lithium ion batteries, so hopefully this encourages users to dispose them properly. In addition, how many times have you thrown a battery away? If you're like me, they are more likely to be stuck in a drawer and forgotten about.

The truth of the matter

It will be on the shoulders of vapers worldwide to be responsible and dispose of their electronic cigarette components properly. The fact that e-cigarettes are made of plastic allows for more opportunities to reduce, reuse and recycle. It may only be a small step toward reducing our impact on the world, but it is at least a step.
Decided to make the switch from tobacco to electronic cigarettes? That's great!

VaporFi offers several kinds of starter kits that can provide you with all the tools you need. In addition to offering starter kits and other accessories, you can browse our blog and knowledge center to learn more about the world of electronic cigarettes.

Together, we can move one step closer to a cleaner planet.