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Duke in Pictures: 4,900 Cigarette Butts

LIVE FOR LIFE staff collected littered cigarette ends during cleanup last week

Volunteers from LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, spent time last week collecting cigarette butts at the Duke Medical Center campus as part of efforts to mark Duke Medicine’s ninth anniversary of being a tobacco-free workplace. 

Above, LIVE FOR LIFE interns Amanda Jeren and Dipa Patel measure cigarette butts collected in plastic newspaper sleeves. They estimated about 200 cigarette butts fit into each 6-inch plastic sleeve. Volunteers filled up nearly 25 bags for a total of about 4,900 collected cigarette butts.

The trash was used as part of an educational display at the Duke Farmers Market to share information about the health hazards of smoking and to highlight Duke’s tobacco cessation resources

Below, cigarette butts were found littered in grassy areas, with most ends tossed within 15 feet of outside ashtray receptacles, said Cassandra Callas, health education specialist with LIVE FOR LIFE. 

“As a whole, Duke has come a long way in accomplishing a goal of becoming a fully tobacco-free campus, but we still have a long way to go,” Callas said. “I thought it was very eye opening  to see how many people are still smoking, but it inspires us because it makes us feel like we have work to do to help those employees.”

Photos provided by LIVE FOR LIFE