Establishing an Advocacy Project to Reduce and Eliminate Cigarette Butt Waste

A campaign is more than the sum of its parts (education; policy, scientific, legal, or technical work; political advocacy; communications). The cigarette butt waste campaign will be structured to achieve basic changes in reality and public perception. It will identify the real decision-makers and those who influence them, and the motivating forces that influence their behavior. Drivers of change (public, consumers, shareholders, voters, opinion-formers, etc) to engage decision-makers and force action are essential, and the campaign will seek out ways to empower them to create the changes that are needed at local, state, national and international levels. The campaign will identify critical pathway steps taken over the life of the campaign to achieve its goal - the core actions needed for the cigarette butt wastes reforms to become reality. Campaign strategies will differ, depending on the event, political target (e.g., state vs. national), legal or corporate options, etc. Accordingly, a variety of communication strategies will be employed, while staying true to the challenge of helping to move the campaign along its critical pathway. One learns by doing, in running and being part of a campaign, and knowing that each has its own, special identity. While the cigarette butt waste campaign is challenging, given its focus on socially meaningful goals (protecting public health and the environment - the campaign pillars), it has the potential to be a strong stimulus for meaningful changes in public policy on cigarette butt waste and subsequently on changes in cigarette consumption.