Leave The Pack Behind is a Health Promotions group on campus that
provides information about tobacco use and cessation support to
students. This month they have embarked upon an Environmental Theme highlighting the effects of cigarette butt litter. LTPB recently participated in the TD Cleanup through oUTreach and have been
surprised by the volume of cigarette butt litter on campus. Cigarette
butts are not biodegradable; are harmful to small animals and lead to
many harmful chemicals being leached into the soil.
Their team is planning a Cigarette butt Clean-up on campus during the
week of Nov 3rd-7th.  Along with volunteers, they would be picking
up and bagging the cigarette butts along St. George Street. They are
also hoping to have residence environmental teams participate by
cleaning up their residences. At the end of the week, they would be
displaying the bags of cigarette butts and holding an awareness event
in the Sid Smith courtyard with the aim of reducing cigarette butt
litter on campus.

They are currently recruiting more volunteers, if you would be
interested in joining please contact them at

When: Nov 3rd-7th- Along St. George Street
Contact Info: Leave the Pack Behind

Here are just some of the reasons why it is important to raise awareness about cigarette butt litter:

1. There are 4,000 chemicals in cigarette butts and a lot of those are toxic.
2. Within an hour of contact with water, cigarette butts can begin leaching chemicals such as cadmium, lead, and arsenic into the marine environment.
3. Cigarette butts are not biodegradable and can take up to 12 years to decompose.
4. Cigarette butts have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales, and other marine creatures who mistake them for food.
5. It only takes two to three cigarette butts ingested by a small pet to seriously harm or kill them.

Leave The Pack Behind is a student-run organization(supported by U of T’s Health Promotion department), which provides information on tobacco related issues. In addition, they provide support for smokers who DO NOT want to quit, for smokers who would like to quit, and for friends who would like to help friends quit

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