Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
Center of Excellence on Environmental Health and Toxicology, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Mar 29;15(4):630. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15040630.
Thailand, like all nations, has a responsibility to initiate environmental actions to preserve marine environments. Low- and middle-income countries face difficulties implementing feasible strategies to fulfill this ambitious goal. To contribute to the revitalization of Thailand's marine ecosystems, we investigated the level of tobacco product waste (TPW) on Thailand's public beaches. We conducted a cross-sectional observational survey at two popular public beaches. Research staff collected cigarette butts over two eight-hour days walking over a one-kilometer stretch of beach. We also compiled and analyzed data on butts collected from sieved sand at 11 popular beaches throughout Thailand's coast, with 10 samples of sieved sand collected per beach. Our survey at two beaches yielded 3067 butts in lounge areas, resulting in a mean butt density of 0.44/m². At the 11 beaches, sieved sand samples yielded butt densities ranging from 0.25 to 13.3/m², with a mean butt density of 2.26/m² (SD = 3.78). These densities show that TPW has become a serious problem along Thailand's coastline. Our findings are comparable with those in other countries. We report on government and civil society initiatives in Thailand that are beginning to address marine TPW. The solution will only happen when responsible parties, especially and primarily tobacco companies, undertake actions to eliminate TPW.
泰国与所有国家一样，有责任采取环境行动来保护海洋环境。中低收入国家在实施可行的战略以实现这一宏伟目标方面面临困难。为了促进泰国海洋生态系统的复兴，我们调查了泰国公共海滩上的烟草制品废物（TPW）水平。我们在两个受欢迎的公共海滩进行了横断面观察性调查。研究人员在两天的 8 小时内沿着一千米长的海滩步行收集香烟头。我们还编译和分析了泰国沿海 11 个热门海滩的筛沙中收集到的烟头数据，每个海滩收集 10 个筛沙样本。我们在两个海滩的调查共收集了 3067 个沙滩躺椅上的烟头，平均烟头密度为 0.44/平方米。在 11 个海滩上，筛沙样本的烟头密度范围为 0.25 至 13.3/平方米，平均烟头密度为 2.26/平方米（SD = 3.78）。这些密度表明，TPW 已成为泰国海岸线的严重问题。我们的发现与其他国家的发现相当。我们报告了泰国政府和民间社会为解决海洋 TPW 而开始采取的举措。只有当负责任的各方，特别是烟草公司采取行动消除 TPW 时，解决方案才会出现。
