Cigarette butts are the most thrown away trash that are found in our environment. There are more of these little things than even plastic bottle caps. The butts contain little plastic fibers that are impossible to get rid of once it gets into our environment. They contain chemicals like arsenic, lead and nicotine which goes straight into our soil and our ocean.
The problem with these butts are that they are hard to notice but if you pay close attention you can see them in your beach, park, school and even church. For those that have a dirty mind ….. congrats! you should be proud.
The goal of this blog is not to project any judgment towards smokers or to encourage anyone to smoke. It is meant to inspire those that do smoke to find better alternatives and maybe even inspire some to quit.
Reusable E-Cigarette
Before I talk about E-Cigarette, I am gonna slap a big disclaimer. All nicotine products one way or another is harmful for your body. The alternative that I am going to provide is better in the case of pollution but not for your health.
You will find E-cigarette in all shapes and sizes. There are some that even looks like your favorite household items. As you may have noticed, there are a lot of different types and looking for the right one for the planet is important. I would say when buying an E-cigarette look for ones that are reusable.
Unlike disposable E-cigarette, you can recharge and load a new cartridge once you run out of juice. There are companies that even offers recycling programs with incentives to recycle the used cartridges as well.
I encourage those that are smoking cigarettes to check out greensmartliving.com . They are an E-cigarette company that offers reusable vapes and they even have a recycle program. When you participate in their program, you can get points for recycling which will reduce the cost of your overall smoking habits.
Vitamin Infused Air Pods
A large reason people smoke is because it has become ingrained into our habits. When something is part of our daily habit, it is hard to drop it. Especially when the act of smoking itself is associated with relieving stress. Aside from the addictive effect of nicotine, we become used to just the act of smoking. I have a friend who told me she associates smoking as her time to relax while she sits in her car to reflect on her life.
Now I know the effects of nicotine is not small but replacing it with a healthier smoking habit can help many overcome the hurdle. There is a company called LUVV which specializes in making vapes that contain vitamins and other supplements. You can check them out by searching: luvv.com.
This is a cigarette alternative that neither contains nicotine or other harmful chemicals. They are also fully recyclable and they plant a tree with every order that you make. I also think its nice that smoking it actually causes one to relax unlike cigarettes which is shown to cause anxiety. However, I do not recommend anyone under 18 to smoke LUVV just to prevent hand to mouth habit.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
As I said before, the effects of nicotine are not small. It is the strongest driving force to get someone to smoke a pack of cigarette. I have all my heart out to those that constantly battle within themselves to quit with no avail. Sometimes an addiction is too strong for us to overcome it all alone.
I believe Nicotine Replacement Therapy can be a great start, whether that is chewing gum, using nasal spray or applying nicotine patch. They are all a viable way to reduce our craving. Once the craving is controlled, there are still the habits of smoking that we been conditioned to enjoy. This we can overcome with time or substitute it with a healthier smoking habit like LUVV.
Concluding Remarks
Addiction is hard and the only way to overcome it is to surround ourselves with the right support groups and environmental cues. Whatever steps you are in with quitting or even if you decide not to at all, I respect your decisions and there are no judgments from me. All I hope from this article is that you know there are eco-alternatives to the habits we partake. By taking that small step, we can prevent another 4.5 trillion cigarette butts from going into our ocean, our soil and our body.
I also understand that these alternatives may not be there for people in developing countries. This is where we need to come up with solutions that caters to the rest of the world but that’s a topic for another blog.
Written by: Win Teavir
Sources:
GreenerYears 