On 2 March 2022, 175 countries of the United Nations Environment Council (UNEA) adopted a resolution to negotiate an international legally binding agreement to “end plastic pollution” by the end of 2024. The UNEA resolution 5/14 mandated an Open Working Group to carry out preparatory work ahead of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) negotiations. The first session of the INC aims to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The session currently takes place (from 28 November to 2 December) in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

6 trillion cigarette filters are produced and consumed annually, which have a significant environmental and health impact.

The environmental impact

These filters consist of cellulose acetate and break down into microplastics that are released into the (aquatic) environment. In addition to plastic, cigarette butts contain toxic substances, including arsenic, heavy metals, zinc and copper, which also end up in the environment. Cigarette filters form the largest fraction of litter in the world (WHO, 2017), and therefore represent a major environmental problem. The theme of this year’s World No Tobacco Day 2022 (who.int) was “Tobacco, poisoning our planet” for a good reason.

More information on this topic:

• Sustainability | Free Full-Text | A Review of Environmental Pollution from the Use and Disposal of Cigarettes and Electronic Cigarettes: Contaminants, Sources, and Impacts | HTML (mdpi.com)
• Smoked cigarette butts: Unignorable source for environmental microplastic fibers (zie bijlage)
• Cigarettes Butts and the Case for an Environmental Policy on Hazardous Cigarette Waste – PMC (nih.gov)

The health impact

In addition, the vast majority of independent research suggests that filters do not reduce the harmful effects of tobacco smoke, contrary to popular belief. In the 1950s, it became clear that smoking causes lung cancer. The tobacco industry then developed the cellulose acetate filter and promoted the filter as a means of reducing the health risks associated with smoking. Smokers embraced the filter cigarette and today, the market share of filter cigarettes far exceeds that of unfiltered cigarettes. Filters can actually amplify the harmful effects of tobacco smoke, as the filter affects the burning conditions of the tobacco, increasing certain carcinogenic substances (so-called tobacco-specific nitrosamines). These substances can cause a certain type of lung cancer (adenocarcinoma). Smokers may also inhale deeper because of the filter. Toxic fibers from the cut end of the filter can also be inhaled and swallowed by smokers.

• The ‘filter fraud’ persists: the tobacco industry is still using filters to suggest lower health risks while destroying the environment – PubMed (nih.gov)
• Cigarette Filter Ventilation and its Relationship to Increasing Rates of Lung Adenocarcinoma | JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
• Switching people who smoke to unfiltered cigarettes: perceptions, addiction and behavioural effects in a cross-over randomised controlled trial | Tobacco Control (bmj.com)

Moreover, the recent ‘rigged cigarette’ ruling by the Rotterdam District Court indicates unequivocally that filters do not make smoking ‘healthier’ and are a marketing tool of the tobacco industry. Filter cigarettes are more harmful and addictive than the tobacco industry pretends, as smokers ingest far more poison and nicotine than is found in official measurements. This is because cigarette filters have tiny holes through which, in official measurements, air is drawn, diluting the toxins. Smokers cover these holes with their mouths and fingers, which means that in practice this dilution is omitted: NVWA moet handhavend optreden tegen verkoop filtersigaretten (rechtspraak.nl)

As a partner of the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance | GGTC, the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention asks you to support the following in the context of this treaty: 

1. The tobacco industry should be excluded from policy development and not, in line with Art. 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) be treated as a regular stakeholder
2. Introduction to the convention of a filter ban
3. Based on the ‘polluter pays’ principle, making tobacco products financially responsible for the damage caused

Additional resources can be found down below: