Why are there cigarette butts on the beach?

I asked myself this question all summer (well, all vacation) because there isn't a single beach without cigarette butts. Actually, there is one beach that has completely succeeded in banning cigarette butts from its sand: La Ciotat beach (13). And it's a success, many people go to smoke outside the beach and the ashtrays provided are always full... it even seems there aren't enough!

Did you know that just one cigarette butt can pollute 500 liters of seawater, not to mention that marine animals can mistake it for food and ingest it.

And also, it's not pleasant when you lay out your towel and find a lot of cigarette butts.

So yes to this kind of initiative, and long may it inspire others! However, is prohibition the solution? Perhaps good awareness about the pollution caused by cigarette butts can change things! (sometimes I feel like I'm in Care Bear land)

For your information, in the US it's common practice (New York, Los Angeles...) and trying to break the law is expensive (around $50)

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