Sorry, but that's just not true. I see it all the time and I never tailgate. Maybe I just have good eyes (I did have LASIK), but it's perfectly visible to me when it happens.
I can see it when I am directly behind someone, especially when the SOB throws it out the window the the little fireball comes straight at me. Even in my smoking days I never threw a cigarette out the window. It’s stupid and dangerous.