ADUC – Article – Cigarette filters release deadly toxins into the environment

Smoking kills. Everyone knows by now. But what researchers from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) What people are keen to emphasize today are the harmful effects of cigarettes on the environment. First of all, they point out that cigarette filters are made of plastic. Cellulose acetate. And that, thrown into the environment – ​​which 65% of smokers admit to doing – can release up to 100 microplastic fibers a day into the water. Worldwide, this equals the estimated emissions of our washing machines. Approximately 0.3 million tons of microfibers per year.

The researchers also point out that cigarette butts not only release plastic fibers, but also thousands of toxins. A single cigarette butt could therefore contaminate 1,000 liters of water with nicotine. “Even the European Union has classified cigarette filters as hazardous waste,” notes Professor Carney Almroth, in a Press release. Numerous studies have shown that environmental contamination by cigarette butts can alter biological processes and even lead to the death of a whole range of aquatic organisms.

This is confirmed by the work of researchers at the University of Gothenburg: there is an excess mortality of 20% in mosquito larvae.

Cigarette butts are among the most common waste in the world. Their disposal is expensive. More than 230 million dollars a year for Germany alone, for example. THE researchers they are demanding that the filters simply be withdrawn from the market. Especially since, according to them, the benefit for the smoker still remains to be demonstrated.

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