MANILA, Philippines – Small but terrible – and deadly.

An environmental group warned the public Thursday that cigarette butts could cause serious damage to the environment.

“Many smokers do not see cigarette butts as a major problem because of their small size, and not many are aware that discarded butts can pose a heavy toll on the environment,” said Elsie Brandes-de Veyra of the EcoWaste Coalition, which also expressed its support for the anti-smoking campaign.

Said Brandes-de Veyra: “Butts may look small but with the Pinoy’s addiction to cigarette and tobacco and the quantity of carelessly thrown butts in the environment, these items can pose real toxic threats to humans and wildlife.”

The EcoWaste Coalition teamed up with Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines (FCAP) in urging Filipinos to quit the deadly and costly habit of cigarette smoking and to adopt a healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle.

On Wednesday, the FCAP removed an outdoor tobacco advertisement from a sari-sari store in Manila, saying it violated Section 22 (Outdoor Tobacco Ad Ban) of the Comprehensive Tobacco Regulation Act.

EcoWaste said cigarette butts could take up to 25 years to break down due to the cellulose acetate, a type of plastic, in the filters that resists biodegradation. Discarded butts also leach toxic chemicals into the water and soil as they corrode into tiny plastic powder.

Butts are often carried by wind and rain into storm drains and the seas where they are mistaken as food by birds, fishes and other creatures causing digestive problems and making them ingest toxic chemicals like arsenic, cadmium and lead from filters.

FCAP said there are around 30 million Filipino smokers. About 75,000 Filipinos die yearly due to tobacco-related diseases like lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and heart ailments.