Thoughtless smokers are discarding their cigarette butts on the streets and gardens of Port Douglas, making any attempts of beautifying the town futile.

A walk along high foot traffic areas such as Macrossan Street reveals butts are being stubbed out on pavements and garden beds in their hundreds and left to wash into drains where they inevitable end up in the Coral Sea.

While most smokers 'do the right thing' it seems others don't see an issue with, or simply don't think about, the consequences of their actions. However, Clean Up Australia Day reports show cigarette butts are the most common form of litter collected.

Aside from the obvious visible eye-sore their littering creates, the impact on marine animals is severe.

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Each cigarette contains more than 3,900 chemicals including nicotine, cyanide, ammonia, cadmium, acetone and arsenic, and cigarette butts contain the toxic residue of these.

Seabirds, turtles and some fish ingest butts, and as the butts swell in the stomach of the animal it causes them to feel full. The animal stops eating and eventually starves to death.

Cases of 'satiation' have been reported for many sea turtles in Queensland and New South Wales, and fisheries officers also have evidence that the ‘dolphin fish’ in particular ingests butts.

So what's the answer?

Many of us feel awkward telling someone who has just littered to pick up their rubbish and dispose of it properly in an attempt to avoid confrontation.

A team of Tangaroa Blue volunteers dedicate their time to cleaning up our beaches, but to eliminate the problem it needs to be stopped at the source.

Next time you see someone flick their butt, let them know where the nearest bin is (keep it friendly). You'll be helping to preserve the very reason people visit our region, and preserve the lives of marine creatures.