Foul, spit-moistened litter discarded promiscuously by those of weak character. Volunteers picked up 600 pounds of butts during a cleanup day on Chicago-area beaches a couple of years back, a statistic for which the word gross is inadequate. Certain butts, and I will not name names, are downright appealing. And, again, the premise is false. Smoking is stupid, but it doesn't look stupid.
Smoking looks cool.
It's our culture. Cigarettes can be marvelous props. That's a big reason teens take up the habit. Changing the culture of cigarette cool has proven difficult, and simply denying it exists is futile or worse. State public health officials and representatives of the attorney general's office selected the animal campaign from a list of ideas supplied by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.