Kettering Council UK hands out BUTTsOUTs

Council hands out ashtrays to cut butt litter

Published Date: 26 November 2009 By David Brennan News editor

Smokers who litter a town centre with their cigarette butts will attract the attention of council and NHS workers tomorrow.
Kettering Council is being joined by the NHS Stop Smoking Service in handing out free ButtsOut personal ashtrays and offering advice to smokers.

The event will be held in Kettering town centre in an effort to reduce the amount of smoking-related litter across the borough.

NHS workers will be accompanying council employees and offering one-to-one advice to people on how to stop smoking and possibly start planning for that New Year's Resolution.

Health workers will also be providing the opportunity for people to have a carbon monoxide test and giving advice about nicotine replacement therapy available on prescription.

There will also be an opportunity for smokers to have their picture taken with age progression software providing a glimpse of how they will look in the future with their current lifestyle.

Cllr Cedwien Brown, portfolio holder for the environment, said: "The council is working closely with the NHS in order to help people give up smoking and reduce smoking-related littering.

"There are still some people who do not realise the harm dropping a cigarette butt can have on the environment and they will get fined if caught.

"We would much rather people dispose of their cigarette butts responsibly. If you are in Kettering tomorrow and either smoke or know someone who does, why not come along and collect a free personal ashtray?"

Despite the threat of a £75 on-the- spot fine, cigarette litter accounts for between 70 to 90 per cent of litter found in town centres.

Cigarette ends are not only litter but harmful to the environment as they can take a minimum of 12 years to break down, while the filters are made of a type of acetate which never breaks down fully.

ButtsOut offer a practical solution to the problem, providing smokers with an easy way to dispose of their cigarette butts without littering.