Almost all cigarette filters are made of plastic. When discarded, they break up into microplastics and release thousands of toxic chemicals like pesticides, arsenic and heavy metals into the environment. Plastic cigarette filters are found everywhere: on playgrounds, in front of hospitals, on beaches, in parks, in rivers and oceans. By design, a plastic cigarette filter has a high probability of being disposed of in the streets.
Plastic cigarette filters are the single most common form of plastic pollution globally. ’It is estimated that billions of filters end up in the environment every day. “Think about it: that’s more than 100,000 filters per second. They do not biodegrade, but, as far as we know now, continue to pollute forever,’’ says campaign leader Karl Beerenfenger. “Even if 90% of used cigarette filters would be discarded in a bin, it would still be a massive environmental problem. That’s why awareness raising and cleanups are not a solution, although the tobacco industry likes to place responsibility on smokers by financing those activities.’’
Many assume that filters are better for your health. The opposite is true. Instead of reducing the health risks associated with smoking, they may worsen them. Yogi Hendlin, public health scientist from Erasmus University Rotterdam, explains: “The tobacco industry knowingly and willingly caused tremendous pollution, and misled smokers, when they introduced the plastic cigarette filter in the 1950s. It’s well documented that smokers take deeper drags to ‘compensate’ for filters. The filter was and is a useless product that’s merely a marketing trick to placate health concerns without actually reducing harms.’’ That’s why the World Health Organisation (WHO) calls cigarette filters ‘’problematic and avoidable plastic’’ and calls on governments worldwide to ban all filters.
The call from all over society is getting louder and the solution is clear: decision makers worldwide should act now by banning the plastic filter. Current developments in various legislative processes around the world provide excellent opportunities for doing so. The No Plastic Filter campaign aims at the Global Plastics Treaty (which is currently being negotiated by the United Nations) and the Single-Use Plastics Directive of the European Union.
The No Plastic Filter-campaign gathers and creates global support for a ban on plastic cigarette filters by sharing scientific knowledge on the impact of filters, supporting activities like the global No Butts Day and building manifests. That should inspire politicians and policymakers worldwide to start working on a ban. People and organisations around the globe are invited to support the call and engage in activities via the campaign website.
Beerenfenger concludes: ‘’The unfiltered truth is that we’re all being fooled. Politicians and policymakers have the chance to make history by ridding the world of this massive and unnecessary form of toxic pollution.’’
