The World as an Ash Tray

I have to start by admitting a long term bias and prejudice here.  Both my parents smoked when I was a little one (proof that that whole "don't smoke when you're pregnant or you will harm your child" thing is bogus.  (chuckles nervously) Right?!)  At every chance I got I would hide my parents cigarettes, or, a favorite, I would sit in front of them, stare at them, and hold my breath when they were smoking.  So, I definitely have an aversion to smoking.  I will try to be as loving and tender as I can without diluting my thoughts.
My thought came to me as the car driving in front of me the other day rolled down the passenger window to flick out their cigarette, which hit my windshield.  No damage was done of course, but the whole thing just seemed very thoughtless.  That one act reminded me of one of my long term beefs with smoking... that the vast majority of people who do so are constantly littering.  Just look around you next time you go downtown.  The streets will have cigarette butts everywhere.  It seems like most people who smoke think that when they flick their cigarette remains out into the air that the cigarette fairy will catch and carry it off. (maybe be even leave a quarter under your pillow?)  Yes, this would make sense why it is done so frequently, why so many places would look clean but don't.  It isn't littering, it is a simple attempt to increase the odds for pillow coinage.  (sigh of frustration) I have only known one or two people who thought through the process of what they were doing.  Our old ranch foreman would smoke his big, brown cigarettes through the gap where his front tooth was missing (He pulled it out with a pair of pliers in the shop at the ranch.  No, I am not joking.) When finished, he would pinch of the burning ends, and place the remains in his pocket.  At the rate he smoked, this was pretty darn impressive.  I also know a girl who only smokes when she is in the car, alone.  She collects the remains in the ash tray of her car, and disposes of them later.  The rest of the many, many smokers I have been around are content to fling the remains wherever they so choose.  The world is their ash tray it seems.  At minimum, one more cigarette butt is added to the billions already strewn about.  At the worst... forrest fire.  If you smoke, I love you, so please stop.  If you insist on continuing, I also love walking around and not seeing piles of cigarette butts collecting in nearly every public corner, so take the time, and dispose of your cigarette remains for the rest of us.