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Big Tobacco has known all along that cigarette filters don’t make smoking safer.12 Cigarette butts are made of microplastic fibers and filter practically nothing.3 Big Tobacco’s filters scam puts us all at risk, even if we don’t smoke. Microplastics from cigarette waste are contaminating our soil, food, and water around the world and right here in California.56 Research suggests that when they wind up inside of us, microplastics are linked to intestinal damage, infertility, and DNA mutations.60561
Big Tobacco is making a global plastic crisis worse.8 Let’s hold them accountable for their lies.
Big Tobacco never lets truth get in the way of profit, and their lies about cigarette filters may be the deadliest ever.19 The industry even invested time and money to create filters that change color to trick people into believing they could protect their lungs from dangerous particles.1019 It was a total scam because the so-called filters filter practically nothing.13
Big Tobacco’s deliberate lie has already sickened and killed countless people.1 Now, we’re all at risk because microplastic cigarette butts create a particularly dangerous type of tobacco pollution.1
Microplastic butts put us all at risk.
Butts are made of thousands of tiny plastic fibers that are too small to clean up – and they could be everywhere.4 No surprise since each year Big Tobacco cranks out a staggering 6 trillion cigarettes with so-called “filters.”12 How does plastic in a cigarette butt biodegrade? That’s the problem: It doesn’t.13 It’s also how the tobacco industry became a top contributor to the global plastics crisis.8
Plastic filters
Each butt is non-biodegradable because it’s made from 15,000+ microplastic cellulose acetate fibers.413
cigarette papers
Cigarette paper is treated with harmful chemicals like potassium citrate (for a faster burn rate) and may contain toxic metals lead, cadmium, and arsenic.1415
Tobacco
Big Tobacco packs 100+ additives into every cigarette, making them more addictive and dangerous.1617
#1 most discarded item on California beaches and waterways.24
The tobacco industry continues to produce an estimated 6 trillion filtered cigarettes each year.1221
Cigarette butts and vapes are toxic waste and are nearly impossible to dispose of safely.22 23
#1 most littered item in the U.S.24
The tobacco industry’s products and waste disproportionately harm lower-income communities and communities of color, which Big Tobacco has targeted for decades.a beaches and waterways.25 26
On California beaches, there are 9x more cigarette butts than plastic straws.24
If that wasn’t bad enough, the industry made filters from microplastics that contaminate our environment – a fact they have flat-out denied.6763 Here’s the truth about four tobacco industry scams that have put us all in danger.
In the 1940s and 50s, as the health dangers of cigarettes became clear, Big Tobacco created filters to make customers think they were smoking a “safer cigarette.”12 It was a total scam because the filters filtered practically nothing.3 But Big Tobacco’s deception worked: In 1951, only 1 percent of cigarettes on the market had a filter; by 1958, almost half had a filter; and by 1993, almost all cigarettes were filtered.32
Big Tobacco always knew their filters didn’t make cigarettes safer.12 Then, they discovered filters actually gave cigarettes a milder taste, making them seem “healthier” and allowing people to inhale more deeply.13 The tobacco industry seized the chance to hook new customers and invested more time, money, and resources to double down on their already dangerous “safer cigarette” scam.3334
In the 1950s, a chemist from R.J. Reynolds named Claude Teague developed the “Teague Filter” that turned filters from white to brown.29 The change in color fooled people into believing the butts protected their lungs from the toxic chemicals in cigarettes.2
Truth is, no matter what color they turn, “filters” filter practically nothing3 and have even been linked to a specific type of lung cancer. 33536
People aren’t the only victims of Big Tobacco’s lies. From wildlife to our oceans – our whole planet is at risk.13 Here’s why. Big Tobacco keeps manufacturing costs down by making cigarette filters from microplastic fibers.3 But the synthetic material doesn’t biodegrade, which makes butts dangerous in all kinds of ways.13 Cigarette butts also contain toxic chemicals – just one can kill a small animal.156970 When soaked in a liter of water, a single butt can release enough toxic chemicals to kill fish and threaten aquatic ecosystems.70 And as butts accumulate, the microplastics and toxic chemicals can leach into our oceans, rivers, lakes, and soil.711959 The industry knows full well that their plastic products are destroying the environment – and they lie about it anyway.37
The tobacco industry wants us to believe that cigarette butts and vapes found on the ground are simply a litter problem.3940 They want us to waste our time installing ashcans in our cities and having beach cleanups.41424344454647 This ruthless industry uses slick PR campaigns to blame people who smoke for its tobacco pollution, dodge accountability, avoid regulations, and spread outright lies.3948
Big Tobacco pretends to care about protecting people and the planet – when all they really care about is profit.49 Make a difference by voicing your outrage.
Compounds commonly found in microplastics may damage human DNA and put people at higher risk for certain types of cancer.64
Studies suggest exposure to microplastics can affect fertility by causing problems like low sperm count and miscarriages.6560
Ingesting microplastics may lead to a build-up of toxins in our gut and make us vulnerable to intestinal inflammation and other disorders.
Big Tobacco’s deadly products damage the environment, which in turn can impact your health.457106073 How much do you know about tobacco pollution?
Express your outrage about the damage caused by the deceitful tobacco industry. You can make a difference by raising your voice.
Big Tobacco lies, and they must be held accountable.3 Reaching out to your local officials can make a difference. Enter your name, choose your location, and we’ll direct your email to your city’s mayor or your county supervisors.
Send an email
Cigarette butts are made of toxic microplastics. Microplastics get into our food, water, and air and could put everyone’s health at risk. Big Tobacco’s plastic pollution is destroying our environment. #bigtobaccoslittlebiglie #microplastics #Undotobacco #Endtobaccodamage
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Get connected with a local organization that’s fighting back against the tobacco industry and the toxic tobacco waste they create.12
Find a group
1. Enter your zip code to locate groups near you that are fighting back against Big Tobacco. 12
2. Fill in your name and email.
3. Click GET CONNECTED to send an automatically generated email to an organization in your area.
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Big Tobacco’s deceitful tactics are harmful both for us and for the planet. Learn more about new concerns over vape waste, or speak up to help hold the tobacco industry accountable.
Big Tobacco’s deceitful tactics are harmful both for us and for the planet. Learn more about new concerns over vape waste, or speak up to help hold the tobacco industry accountable.
