UK warns big tobacco firms: You should pay for cleaning up fag butts

Britain is considering a plan to force big tobacco companies to pay the 40 million pound ($55 million) annual cost of cleaning up discarded cigarette butts.

"We are exploring how cigarette companies can be held fully accountable for the unsightly scourge of litter created by their products," junior environment minister Rebecca Pow said in a statement on Tuesday.

The ministry cited research that showed that smoking-related litter is the most prevalent form of litter in England, making up 68% of all littered items and found on around 80% of surveyed sites. ($1 = 0.7258 pounds)

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