Columbia's smoking ban is bad for the environment.

Lauren Schult points out:

Since Columbia’s smoking ordinance took effect in early January, more cigarette butts have been showing up on sidewalks and streets as smokers have been forced outside. The litter is not only unsightly — it’s a source of water pollution as the butts wash down storm drains that flow into streams.

...

The most environmentally hazardous part of a cigarette butt is the filter, which is made of condensed cellulose acetate, a mass of plastic fibers thinner than sewing threads that doesn’t decay easily.

Experiments with the crustacean Daphnia (often called a water flea) concluded that the toxic chemicals in cigarette filters dissolve in water and are lethal to the freshwater crustacean, which is a crucial link at the lower end of the aquatic food chain.

Where are all the Greenies with their protests on THIS one?

On a related note, 'burber and business owner Karon Rowe gets a boost from tobacco refugees and makes a business decision to stay outside the city limits.