A letter by anti-tobacco Nazi Liu I-Chun was published in FORUM of The Straits Times:
Make tobacco companies pay for cigarette butt litter clean-ups
Cigarette butts consistently rank among the most littered items both locally and globally.
Cigarette butts not disposed of properly pollute our water and soil with toxic chemicals like formaldehyde, nicotine, arsenic, lead, copper, chromium, cadmium and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Discarded cigarette filters can degrade into microplastics and worsen plastic pollution.
Growing concerns about the environmental impact of cigarette butt litter and the substantial clean-up cost have prompted France and Spain to adopt the “polluter pays” principle.
In France, an organization funded by tobacco firms was set up in 2021 to finance clean-up operations, install street ashtrays and run public service advertising campaigns. The target is to reduce cigarette butt litter by 40 per cent in six years.
New regulations in Spain make tobacco companies foot the bill for cigarette butt removal.
The British government is also exploring similar “polluter pays” measures to cover the £40 million (S$65 million) annual cost of cleaning up cigarette butt litter.
For too long, tobacco companies have been privatizing profits but socializing harm, which is borne by people and the environment.
It is time for Singapore to make the tobacco industry pay for the clean-up of their toxic products.
I laughed so much I almost browned my boxers.
Since the pandemic, I have come across discarded face masks on a daily basis. I have personally seen used face masks thrown on our roads, in car parks, food courts, public toilets, even under tables of hawker centers. Besides being disgusting and possibly disease-borne, this phenomenon is a deeper indication of a society devoid of civic-mindednes.
Should we therefore make face mask manufacturers pay for cleaning them up?
It’s a rhetorical question as I find Liu I-chun’s proposal totally flawed.
It is time for retards like her to get a lobotomy