It wasn’t always so bad. Ashtrays were everywhere, ubiquitous in homes, cars, businesses, and public areas. Smokers used them when I was growing up, with the exception of rural areas, where people would just flick the filters to the edge of the property, which also collected rocks dug up from the garden, fallen branches, raked up leaves, etc.
But then someone thought it would be a good idea to eliminate all the ashtrays without eliminating the need for them. And later someone else came along and decided that it would be good to remove the trash cans as well. So now there’s a mess. Unlike a candy bar wrapper, stubbed out cigarettes or burnt-out filters smell way worse than smoke, nobody wants to carry them around in their pocket and walk 3 miles out of their way to find a trash can.
Later generations are more conscious about it, and may carry an airtight container to put them in. But the ones who grew up with ashtrays and trashcans everywhere and now have to suffer shame because they’re gone just toss the filters in defiance against those who took them away and doomed them to that shame.
