Read all about why a growing global group of people and organisations is calling for a ban on cigarette filters

The newest and most relevant insights

An increasing number of individuals and organisations are expressing concern about (plastic) cigarette filter pollution — and justifiably so. There are numerous strong and evidence-based reasons to support a ban on cigarette filters.

Quantity

Cigarette filters are by number the largest form of plastic pollution worldwide (the most littered anthropogenic waste item in the world)
Cigarette filters have been polluting water and land for at least seven decades, since their introduction in the 1950s
Even if 90% of cigarette filters were discarded properly, still billions of butts would end up in the environment worldwide annually: awareness raising is not enough of a solution
Cleaning up is impossible (join the annual international cigarette butt cleanup day ‘No Butts Day‘ to help prove it again this year)

Costs

Cigarette filter pollution is estimated to cost US$26 billion/year in waste management and marine ecosystem damage worldwide
The effect on water and soil quality is yet to be investigated

Toxicity

Cigarette filters release thousands of toxic chemicals, including heavy metals and pesticides.
Cigarettes contain over 7000 toxic chemicals and some of these are readily leached into aquatic habitats
One butt can contaminate up to 1000 liters of water with harmful nicotine levels, qualifying as hazardous waste according to EU thresholds
Filters alter growth, reproduction, and microbial balance in soil and water.
On land, littered cigarette butts can contaminate crops with nicotine, reduce growth and alter productivity of common plants
Since 2006, over 35 studies have examined the toxicity of cigarette butts in biota from aquatic and terrestrial habitats and a range of lethal and sublethal impacts have been documented
Almost all cigarette filters are currently made with cellulose acetate, a plasticized bio-based material
Current cigarette filters decompose into microplastics and nanoplastics, accumulating in the environment
Cigarette filters do not, or very slowly biodegrade in the natural environment
Even unsmoked cellulose acetate filters can be toxic to some invertebrates and plants

Deception

Cigarette filters don’t reduce harm from smoking: research has confirmed that filters never made smoking safer, but instead imposed additional health hazards
Cigarette filters are a design flaw, being merely a marketing tool to sell more cigarettes
Cigarette filters are an unnecessary product
Cigarette filters with filters splintered can cause smokers to inhale plastic fibers