"We want to encourage smokers in the city to act responsibly and we hope this campaign will make people realise that cigarette butts are litter and it is unacceptable to throw them on the ground," said Lord Mayor Councillor Royston Brady.

The portable ashtrays, to be handed out over the next fortnight, are made of the same flameproof plastic as car ashtrays and can hold up to six butts. They can be clipped onto a belt and fitted into pockets or handbags.

The council's initiative comes ahead of a controversial government plan to ban smoking in Irish hotels, bars and restaurants from January 1, 2004.

Currently, smokers face a 125-euro on-the-spot fine if caught stubbing out cigarettes on the streets of Dublin. Brady said cigarette filters represent a long-term environmental problem as they take at least 12 years to degrade while 32 percent of litter collected in the city is made up of butts.

The council estimates that 280,000 people in the Dublin area smoke a total of four million cigarettes each day.

TERRA.WIRE