Smokers’ Attitude and Behavior towards Cigarette Littering in Romania: A Survey-Based Approach

Abstract

Cigarette butts continue to be a significantly detrimental challenge for both human health and the quality of the environment and life in general. The escalating accumulation of inadequately discarded cigarette butts continues unabated, in spite of the myriad legislative procedures that have been instituted by authorities with the objective of incentivizing diminution of this phenomenon. For decades, the scientific literature has discussed the importance of smokers’ behavior and beliefs in contributing to the problem. Thus, the objective of this study is to analyze cigarette butt littering behavior using a survey-based questionnaire. A total of 1643 complete responses were collected from Romanian smokers addressing their knowledge, practices, and views regarding the disposal of cigarette butts. According to the findings, awareness about the impacts and characteristics of cigarette butts is problematic, as are smokers’ self-reported explanations for their conduct. Specifically, more than 30% of the sample stated that cigarette butts are biodegradable, and 31.5% believe that cigarette butts are not toxic to the environment. The results also showed that only 19.7% of the smokers strongly believed that they should be considered accountable for their behavior. Future study directions are provided to advance studies in this area and improve present approaches to lessen the frequency of this behavior.

Macro and microplastic pollution in Romania: addressing knowledge gaps and potential solutions under the circular economy framework

“…As for food packaging materials, plastic waste dominated among littered items (39,53%) reaching higher levels in the case of bags (62.4%), while the overall plastic litter in rural areas was much higher (55.4%) compared to urban areas (12.2%) due to the lack of unsound waste management services ( Centru de Excelenta pentru Dezvoltare Durabila (CEDD), 2010 ). In urban areas, cigarette butts were the most prevalent litter item in 2009 ( Centru de Excelenta pentru Dezvoltare Durabila (CEDD), 2010 ) and persist nowadays as a bad practice among citizens ( Lakatos et al, 2023 ).…”