Don’t forget to use the ash cans for your cigarette butts

The snow is long gone but, unfortunately, what’s left behind is the litter people toss into drifts. By far, the biggest litter problem on our properties is cigarette butts. Although Niagara Health has had a property-wide smoking ban in place since 2007, there continue to be smokers who do not abide by the signage, and who also leave their cigarette butts on the property.
A cigarette filter takes 12 years to decompose, and the cigarette butts that litter the ground contain more than 4,000 environmentally harmful chemicals, causing toxins to seep into ground water and eventually into our drinking water.
To try and resolve this continuing litter problem, the NHS purchased more ash cans last year and placed them at property boundaries. Please use the ash cans – not the sidewalk or grass boulevard to butt out!
Remember, smoking within nine metres of any hospital entrance can lead to a fine of $305 by Niagara Region Tobacco Enforcement Officers. «