Friday 14 June 2019 11:25am Requiring cigarettes to contain biodegradable filters, fining smokers who litter cigarette butts and expanding smoke free outdoor areas are measures the public considers are most likely to reduce tobacco product waste, new University of Otago research reveals. The recent survey of 800 New Zealanders including both smokers (386) and non-smokers (414) shows most respondents consider cigarette butts are toxic to the environment, holding smokers primarily responsible. Professor Janet Hoek. However, Lead Researcher Professor Janet Hoek from the Departments of Public Health and Marketing says when knowledge of butt non-biodegradability increased, so too did the proporti... [Read more]