It's time to kick butt litter.

We're talking about smokers who take one long, last drag, then drop the cigarette butt onto the sidewalk. Cigarette after cigarette after cigarette.

It turns out they aren't just litterers. They are polluters.

Scientists say that despite what smokers might believe, cigarette butts contain plastic filters that are not biodegradable. They can enter sewers and storm drains and get swept into rivers and then out to sea. The New York Times has reported that once in the water, the butts release toxic chemicals, including nicotine, benzene and cadmium.

What does that do?

Recent experiments show that one butt has enough poisons to kill half the minnows in a liter of water in 96 hours. ...

Cigarette manufacturers are trying to help. Reynolds American Inc. considered removing plastic from filters so they would be biodegradable. Consumers didn't like the taste.

Philip Morris is part of a campaign to get people to stop ignoring this problem and to get cities and urban districts to provide appropriate ways to dispose of butts. In the 178 such places, cigarette littering decreased by an average of 46 percent, the Times reported.

So, if you must smoke, remember: Cigarette butts are litter — no ifs, ands or buts about it.

The (Charleston) Post and Courier