Cigarettes and Snowboarding?

One of the topics in snowboarding that remains relatively quiet is smoking cigarettes. Even though it doesn't seem to capture the big media's attention, I know it is a subject that many have pondered at some point when riding. Curious, I asked readers their opinion of the habit and its effect on their resort experience.

Now, the process of slowly destroying your lungs and throat is blatantly out of place in a sport that demands physical exertion in high altitudes, but the possibility of a resort being completely smoke-free is unlikely. It is important for non-smokers to understand that smoking is an addiction not easily put down; likewise, smokers need to understand that there aren't many who appreciate the smell of cigarette smoke when in fresh mountain air. Let's face it, cigarette smoke stinks; even smokers will admit that. Most non-smokers are simply hoping riders stop smoking in lift lines, on the lift, at the top of runs and in food areas where the smoke is guaranteed to affect several people, and this is a policy many resorts are beginning to enforce in response to customer feedback...but here is the bigger picture:

In most cities, cigarettes are a major contributor to the litter that lines the streets and sadly, the same is true for our resorts. Since many smokers associate their cigarettes with relaxing, the habit fits right in with escaping to the mountain and getting some turns in. Snow works great for putting out a cigarette, so maybe you are on the lift, maybe you are strapping in, maybe you are enjoying a quick cigarette mid-tree run, but it's so much easier to just snuff the butt in the snow and leave it there. Unfortunately, what ends up happening throughout the season is layer upon layer of cigarette butts are deposited in the snow. Of course the snow melts, and now you have butts all over the mountain as well as in the runoff... this runoff likely flows to vital water sources. There are a few smokers who appreciate that their cigarette butts are not meant to be a part of the mountain and make all efforts to dispose of them properly, but the majority do not. In fact, poll results showed that above personal comfort, most readers just wish that smokers would pick up their butts.

In an increasingly mistrusting and unfriendly world it might be asking too much for us to be considerate of one another, but in all likelihood the only thing the mountain ever does is bring us good times, so above all we as snowboarders should at least respect that.

Bottom line: Smokers, pick up your butts!