The butts rolled toward my feet.

If I had his dignity, I’d cry like that Indian from the famous 1970s anti-litter TV commercial. Instead, I seethe.

Cigarettes are the most littered item in the United States, according to cigarettelitter.org. Almost all filters are made of plastic (cellulose acetate tow fibers). They can take decades to degrade.

To honor Norman Vincent Peale, let’s adopt positive thinking. Smokers pay exorbitant tax every time they buy a pack. That alleviates my tax burden. 

They also die younger (and quicker). That means they don’t clog nursing homes, hanging on for years in a vegetative, dementia-induced stupor while further draining Medicaid.

Yet as John McCain might say, smokers litter like drunken sailors. The toxic residue in cigarette filters not only harms the environment, but butts can also cause fires.

It’s hard to confront littering smokers as they drive. But I’m eventually going to catch up to one of ‘em and say, “Excuse me, I picked this up back there after you dropped it. Here you go.”

I’ll fling it into their car with the same nonchalance that they showed just moments earlier. And the ghost of that Indian will smile.

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