A study for environment charity Keep Britain Tidy has found that 52 per cent of daily smokers in the UK reported that they did not see a problem with discarding their cigarette butts down the drain, even though it poses a threat to marine wildlife, Metro reported.

Almost two in every five smokers surveyed said they dropped a cigarette butt down the drain in the last month. The survey also found that 53 percent were aware of the fact that their cigarette butts would end in the sea, when discarded down the drain, Metro reported.
77 per cent of those surveyed, however, said they were worried that toxins from their cigarettes could harm marine life, according to the report.
Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, commented on the survey saying: “While flicking a cigarette down the drain may not seem harmful, we need to ensure smokers understand that this has a direct and often drastic impact on wildlife.
“We need to challenge this view and get the message to smokers that this is still littering.
“It’s encouraging to see that so many smokers were very concerned about the impact of their cigarette butts on marine life, and we hope that this research will further educate the public about the effects of smoking-related litter,” Ogden-Newton was quoted as saying.