Cigarette, Daydreams, You were only seventeen

Do you know the song "Cigarette Daydreams" by Cage the Elephant?

"Cigarette, Daydreams, You were only seventeen." This song is like a subtle breeze that takes you back to those small but important moments during your teenage years, bringing a sense of nostalgia.

However, in the place I live, cigarettes don't just exist in memories or songs. They exist in our daily lives, as litter, lying on the road, sidewalks, pavements, and almost everywhere. In Taiwan, around 9 million cigarette butts are being improperly thrown away yearly. It's almost impossible not to notice them when walking on the streets. Those tiny pieces of "memories" are scattered across the streets, left behind without any second thoughts; sometimes, the people who left them don't even have the time to put them out. They just throw them away without hesitation, just like how Riley from Inside Out did with her core memories --- except those cigarettes do not fade away. Cigarette butts don't merely disappear; they get picked up by people, mostly the street janitors, and recycled afterward. But the thing is, not all cigarette butts get picked up, so not all of them get recycled. They might seem insignificant and small, but they are far from harmless. Made with plastic filters, they don’t decompose easily. Instead, they slowly break down into microplastics, releasing toxic chemicals into the environment. Furthermore, when it rains, they are washed into drains, rivers, and eventually the ocean, turning a careless habit into a widespread environmental problem.

Maybe the problem isn't cigarette itself, it's how easily we disconnect our actions from the circumstances they might bring. Leaving a small cigarette butt on the street gives the impression of being inconsequential, but what if thousands of people are doing it at the same time? Maybe the solutions aren't that complex. Taking a few more minutes to properly dispose of cigarettes, or bringing a portable ashtray when going out, are all ways to protect the earth. For people who don't smoke, help put out the fire from the cigarette butts, or better, pick the cigarette butts up, are all ways to help. If a single moment can leave something behind, then a single choice can prevent it, too.