As submitted to the editor of the Sacramento Bee

Your editorial "Memo to smokers" (6/2) presents a problem that is easily solved with two simple actions. To reduce and/or elimimate those offensive cigarette butts polluting the natural environment,

1. Ban all cigarette filters. They are the acetate (plastic) mentioned in your article, and the science suggests that filters don't significantly reduce the health risk of smoking anyway. And,

2. Require smokers to "field strip" their butts. This is a procedure long employed by the members of the U.S. military, involving shredding unfiltered cigarette butts between the fingers to render them biodegradable.

How much easier can it get?

UPDATE: They published a much shorter letter with the same basic content.