"55 percent of the people in Diyarbakir smoke," warned Yahya Oger, president of the Green Star Association, an anti-smoking organisation.
"Birds eat cigarettes that are thrown on the ground by smokers. They die as a result," Oger added. "Fifty percent of forest fires in Turkey are caused by cigarette butts."
I believe people who throw their cigarette butts on the ground are doing something wrong. They do so out of ignorance. After all, we all live in the same community. We must keep our environment clean," said Leyla Dal, a student from Diyarbakir.
More than 8 million people worldwide die from diseases caused by tobacco use each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite this, the rate of smoking is on the rise, which WHO says poses a great risk to the environment.
Countries like the United Kingdom and Canada are looking to ban the use of tobacco entirely within the next decade.
