Inefficient filters are the main source of global plastic pollution
Experts in the British Medical Journal today believe that the sale of filter cigarettes should be banned to reduce global plastic pollution caused by the trillions of "cigarette butts" thrown away every year.
Thomas Novotny of San Diego State University and colleagues at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said the filter is ineffective. They are smoked to save tobacco costs and to fool people into thinking that they make cigarettes safer. They are also the most commonly collected garbage in the world.
They explained that the largest part of most cigarette butts is a non-biodegradable plastic filter made of cellulose acetate.
Filters first appeared in the 1950s, when the tobacco industry described them as a way to make cigarettes safer by absorbing some of the "tar" associated with the lung cancer epidemic. "But we now know that this safety argument is a myth, one of many myths created by the tobacco industry for the sale of cigarettes," they wrote.
Since then, the tobacco industry has been trying to avoid anything that overshadows cigarettes, including distracting people from the pollution caused by cigarette butts, and has never been held accountable for the waste costs it generates.
Concerns about plastic waste from cigarettes have also been excluded from the international tobacco control agenda, although it is now widely believed that cellulose acetate filters are just a marketing tool with no health benefits, and the filters enhance the attractiveness of cigarettes to teenagers, they added .
This group of authors said that the EU’s ban on many single-use plastic products (such as cutlery, plates and straws) starting in 2021 does not include filters, “this seems to be a missed opportunity”.
However, they pointed out that EU countries have pledged to ensure "health in all policies" and that such a ban would comply with the obligations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
The tobacco epidemic remains the leading cause of death and disability globally. The authors warn that, like the threat of global warming, it will continue until countries implement innovative interventions.
They pointed out that many people previously doubted the possibility of smoke-free bars, pubs, and airplanes, and the idea of restricting a pack of cigarettes to plain packaging with graphic warnings seemed unthinkable.
They wrote: "It may be time to adopt similar radical methods to strengthen the link between the environment and healthy communities in order to promote the common good of the planet."
They concluded: “If we cannot reduce the trillions of cigarette butts that add to the world’s trash burden every year, we will undermine our efforts to curb global plastic waste and miss the opportunity to help end the global tobacco epidemic.”
Editorial: No More Ass Magazine: BMJ
Link to the press release labeling system of the Academy of Medical Sciences: https://press.psprings.co.uk/AMSlabels.pdf Peer review? Type of no evidence: Opinion subject: Cigarette filter Editorial link: https://www.bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l5890
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