Why isn't there a law against throwing cigarette butts into the street?

Okay, this is one of my biggest pet peeves. I’m not crazy about smoking in general, but what bothers me even worse is how all smokers I’ve ever known just throw their used cigarette butts on the ground when they’re done.

Now I know they didn’t start introducing those communal cigarette butt disposal things in front of buildings until fairly recently, but really – can’t people find a trash can?

I see this happening all the time, so why don’t people do anything about it? It hurts the earth and is an eyesore to any street or sidewalk. I see those signs on the highway advertising huge fines for littering, but do these not apply to cigarettes?

I know the last smoking-based discussion I saw on Fluther turned into a huge argument, but this just really frustrates me.