The Fresh Campus Campaign is a college advocacy campaign sponsored by the Louisiana Tobacco-Free College Initiative. The objective of the Fresh Campus Campaign is to make Louisiana college campuses 100% tobacco-free. The Fresh Campus Campaign is led by students in 10 colleges and universities in Louisiana, students who are standing up to make a difference where they learn, work, and live.
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Cigarette Butts Are Poisonous To Fish
It’s estimated that some 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are thrown on the ground or in bodies of water each year. For the record, there are 12 zeros in a trillion, that’s a whole lot of litter.
We know that butts can be harmful to many animals if they happen to ingest them but a new study out of San Diego State University suggests that not all animals have to consume the butts to be harmed by them. Fish could very well be the most helpless animal when it comes to cigarette butts.
According to the SDSU study, one cigarette butt with traces of tobacco left on it can turn a single liter of water yellowish brown and kill 50% of any fish living in it. If the butts are free of any lingering tobacco, 4 butts will have the same effect on a liter of water. When immersed in water, butts become deadly because they emit poisonous toxins such as nicotine, carcinogens, metals and benzene.
Unlike land animals that have to eat the butts to be harmed, fish just have to breath the poison in through their gills. The poisonous effects of butts harm both freshwater and saltwater fish equally. Food for thought: in beach cleanups, cigarette butts are the number one item people find in the sand. Bad day to be a fish.
(un)Flavor(ed) Country
Apple-flavored tobacco will no longer be available in the Big Apple. A federal district court judge upheld a city ban that prohibits the sale of all flavored tobacco products (except cigarettes), with the exception of menthol and mint-flavored products.
According to a recent article, the ban pertains to “any fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb or spice” flavorings used in anything but cigarettes. The idea is to keep tobacco tasting like tobacco, a move that could directly damage the potential to attract new tobacco users. Among those potential new users that can be turned off by the lack of flavoring are minors – a group of customer that can’t legally buy tobacco products but (although big tobacco will never openly admit it) would be necessary to keep big tobacco earnings high in the future. Because let’s be honest here, who is candy-flavored tobacco really aiming to attract?
The move by NYC to enforce the flavoring ban also sets the stage for more cities to join in. While the FDA hasn’t enforced a ban on the production of flavored tobacco products, NYC’s move to create a citywide ban sets a precedent that allows other cities to do the same thing.
