Cannes 2013: Apparently, butts are okay!

Contrary to popular Indian belief, the roads in Cannes are barely litter-free. All thanks to generously spewed cigarette butts.

One thing we Indians love to hate about ourselves, especially when we're overseas, is the way people back home litter the streets. Well, not that we're wrong about hating this collective habit, but here's some breaking news: we're not the only ones. For all its natural beauty and doll-like houses, the streets of Cannes are infested with cigarette butts! Who would've known, right?

As it turns out, the French don't litter in general, but disposing smoked cigarettes on the street is widespread, collective behaviour. It probably doesn't fall under the 'littering' category as far as their vocabulary goes. Not that it's any excuse for littering, but did you know, the word cigarette has its origins in the French word 'cigare'?

Now, on to more serious facts: The French authorities have been trying hard to tackle this problem for a while now. Around October last year, the mayor of Paris reportedly declared war on cigarette butts by announcing a master plan to install thousands of public ashtrays. Since this is the International Festival of Creativity, it is only fitting to mention the campaign slogan that was rolled out along with the mayor's conviction. It read: 'Don't throw out your cigarette butt, become a hero.' In August 2012, the Antibes SNSM Lifeboat, a lifeboat department providing sea rescue around the Cote D Azur, launched a very visible and talked about campaign to reduce the risk of cigarette butt-induced fires on boats. Called 'No Butts Personal Ashtrays', the effort included distribution of small portable 'personal ashtrays' to smokers.

In 2010, a scandalous anti-smoking French ad campaign stunned its citizens. Reportedly, the seemingly benign slogan went 'To smoke is to be a slave to tobacco' but the visual that accompanied it was what got everyone talking. This is what a piece carried by the New York Times in February 2010 stated about this campaign: "The slogan is bland enough... But it accompanies photographs of an older man, his torso seen from the side, pushing down on the head of a teenage girl with a cigarette in her mouth. Her eyes are at belt level, glancing upward fearfully. The cigarette appears to emerge from the adult's trousers."

The story went on to quote the head of the ad agency (BDDP & Fils) that created the campaign. The ads, he said, drew on the insight that the younger a person when he or she begins to smoke, the stronger the addiction. The ads were therefore crafted to depict how young people see the act of smoking as a rite of passage into adulthood. The ads, thus, were an attempt to convey to teenagers that smoking is a submissive act. No points for guessing the intended analogy.

Around 2007, France outlawed smoking in enclosed or covered public spaces like hospitals, airports, schools and offices. The following year, the ban was extended to include restaurants and cafes. I wonder whether this has anything to do with the large number of cigarette butts on the streets; perhaps smokers took to smoking in the nation's not-so-enclosed public spaces after the ban!

A Brazilian delegate, evidently some kind of art enthusiast, said something strangely fascinating when I brought up this issue of littering, in an unrelated conversation the other day. He was of the view that these generously scattered butts actually add to the charm of the place. I'm still not sure I heard him right. For all I know, he wasn't referring to cigarette butts at all. Come to think of it, we were standing right next to the beach.