![cig-butts-GettyImages-953576906_1024.jpg](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/Qmf2NUUNN5sUHJtmpCUMoMtFNKAn6rbAJjgPGBbwTNi2hp)
*Image: MaRabelo/Getty Images*

It is well known that there is a lot of human-produced trash polluting the world's oceans. Recent reports claim the item that is most abundant among the various items making up this trash is cigarette butts. I couldn't find the weight distribution of pollutants involved by category - but that would still not provide the full picture as what matters is the rate of chemical dissolution, absorption into living organisms, propagation through various food chains, etc.

Given that cigarette filters tend to float on the surface it may be possible to gather them without too much trouble. But regardless of that - as an ex-smoker who for years smoked only hand-rolled filterless cigarettes I have the following to say: if you have to smoke, this is what you should smoke. Not only would that make your butts biodegradable - the harsh taste of raw tobacco will force you to quite earlier thus lowering your nicotine consumption and making the whole experience less damaging to you, based on my limited knowledge of how it works.

**_Sources_**

[The Most Abundant Type of Ocean Trash Is Not What We Expected, And It's Disgusting](https://www.sciencealert.com/cigarette-butts-are-the-most-abundant-pieces-of-human-trash-in-ocean)
John Walsh, *Business Insider*, 3 September 2018

[Plastic straw ban? Cigarette butts are the single greatest source of ocean trash](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/plastic-straw-ban-cigarette-butts-are-single-greatest-source-ocean-n903661?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma)
James Rainey, *NBC News*, 27 August 2018