"Idiots" who throw cigarette butts from cars during fire bans should be hit with harsher fines and lose demerit points, the NSW Police Association says.
President Scott Weber says the $375 fine should be doubled and three demerit points stripped for "aggravated litterers".
"These idiots don't care, and the message isn't getting through," he said.
"If the initiative stops one bushfire, it's worth it."
Police can already charge people who throw butts with arson, however they must then prove the discarded cigarette caused the fire.
Stronger fines and a loss of demerit points will enable police to send a "strong, proactive" message without the need for forensic investigations, Mr Webber said.
"Even if ... we can't prove the offence, having that interaction with the alleged offender changes their behaviour," he said.
And it's not just police who want butt-flickers punished more harshly.
A survey of almost 570 people by motoring lobby NRMA found 81 per cent were in favour of increasing penalties.
"The NRMA condemns all forms of littering, however when that littering potentially could lead to fires that could claim lives and destroy property, then we believe the current fines aren't nearly tough enough," president Wendy Machin said.
The Rural Fire Service also supports the move.
"Hopefully this will continue to deter people from doing that as a habit," a spokesman told AAP.
"It doesn't take much for a careless cigarette butt to be thrown out the window and we can potentially have a fire that impacts on roads, people's homes and their livelihoods."
