The Little Big Lie

Big Tobacco’s cigarette butt lies threaten our health – and our planet – with microplastics⁴

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.⁵⁵⁵⁵⁶^‍

Big Tobacco is making a global plastic crisis worse.⁸ Let’s hold them accountable for their lies.

Speak up

The facts

Big Tobacco’s lie about filters may be the deadliest scam of all.⁵⁶

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

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#1 most discarded item on California beaches and waterways.²⁴

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The tobacco industry continues to produce an estimated 6 trillion filtered cigarettes each year.¹²²¹

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Cigarette butts and vapes are toxic waste and are nearly impossible to dispose of safely.²²²³

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#1 most littered item in the U.S.²⁴

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The tobacco industry’s products and waste disproportionately harm lower-income communities and communities of color, which Big Tobacco has targeted for decades.²⁴²⁵^‍

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On California beaches, there are 9x more cigarette butts than plastic straws.²⁴

#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.²²²³

#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

“

[Cigarette] filters are the deadliest fraud in the history of human civilization. They are put on cigarettes to save on the cost of tobacco and to fool people … In the US, 400,000 people a year die from cigarettes – and those cigarettes almost all have filters.”²⁶²⁷²⁸

Robert Proctor

Professor, The History of Science, Stanford University

“

Tobacco waste isn’t any different than a lot of issues in our community, where the burden lies on low-income communities, communities of Black and Brown people, who have historically always borne the brunt of toxic exposure.”

Tara Leonard

Tobacco Educator, Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency

Big Tobacco created filters to trick people into buying a “safer cigarette,” a deception designed to protect profits, not people.¹⁰¹⁹

If that wasn’t bad enough, the industry made filters from microplastics that contaminate our environment – a fact they have flat-out denied.²⁹ ³² Here’s the truth about four tobacco industry scams that have put us all in danger.

Scam #1: Big Tobacco tricks customers with useless filters.¹⁰¹⁹

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.¹¹

Scam #2: Big Tobacco’s color-changing filters mislead customers.⁶⁰

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.³¹³²^‍

In the 1950s, a chemist from R.J. Reynolds named Claude Teague developed the “Teague Filter” that turned filters from white to brown.²⁸ 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.³³³³⁴^‍

Scam #3: Greenwashing: Big Tobacco denied their tobacco pollution harmed the environment.¹³

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.¹⁵⁶¹⁶² When soaked in a liter of water, a single butt can release enough toxic chemicals to kill fish and threaten aquatic ecosystems.⁶² And as butts accumulate, the microplastics and toxic chemicals can leach into our oceans, rivers, lakes, and soil.¹⁹⁵⁴⁶³ The industry knows full well that their plastic products are destroying the environment – and they lie about it anyway.³⁵

Scam #4: Big Tobacco dodges blame for toxic cigarette waste.

The tobacco industry wants us to believe that cigarette butts and vapes found on the ground are simply a litter problem.³⁷ They want us to waste our time installing ashcans in our cities and having beach cleanups.³⁸⁴⁰⁴¹⁴²⁴³ This ruthless industry uses slick PR campaigns to blame people who smoke for its tobacco pollution, dodge accountability, avoid regulations, and spread outright lies.³⁷³⁹^‍

See full documents

A pack of dangerous lies

Big Tobacco pretends to care about protecting people and the planet – when all they really care about is profit.⁴⁴ Make a difference by voicing your outrage.

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It’s scary to think that microplastics from cigarette butts could be making you or your loved ones sick. Here are some of the risks we all face because Big Tobacco spins dangerous lies.

DNA mutations⁵⁵

Compounds commonly found in microplastics may damage human DNA and put people at higher risk for certain types of cancer.⁵⁷

Infertility⁵⁵

Studies suggest exposure to microplastics can affect fertility by causing problems like low sperm count and miscarriages.⁵⁵⁵⁸^‍

Intestinal damage⁵⁶¹

Ingesting microplastics may lead to a build-up of toxins in our gut and make us vulnerable to intestinal inflammation and other disorders.

Microplastics are contaminating our food and water.

Microplastics are tiny enough to get into our food chain.⁵ Microplastics have been found in drinking water, apples, broccoli, lettuce, seafood, and more.⁶²⁰⁴⁵^‍

Microplastics could be inside of us all.

Studies have found microplastics in human lungs, blood, and stool – which means we’re ingesting and breathing in these tiny, dangerous fibers.⁴⁶⁴⁷⁴⁸^‍

Tobacco pollution is a form of racial injustice.

Cigarette pollution is toxic, and lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color are especially at risk of health problems related to tobacco waste.¹²⁴²⁵ That’s because, as Big Tobacco relentlessly targets these communities, unacceptably high levels of nicotine, benzene, and heavy metals accumulate in the environment and put everyone at risk.²⁴⁴⁹⁵⁰⁵¹⁵²^‍

QUICK QUIZ

Big Tobacco’s lies endanger our planet

Big Tobacco’s deadly products damage the environment, which in turn can impact your health. ⁴⁵⁷¹⁰⁵⁵⁶⁴ How much do you know about tobacco pollution?

Take the quiz

“

It may come as a surprise that Americans ingest an estimated hundreds of thousands of microplastic particles a year. According to recent studies, microplastics have been found in human lungs, placenta, and blood; they've been linked to fertility issues, intestinal damage, and even mutations in DNA.

Scott Coffin, Ph.D.

Research Scientist, California State Water Resources Control Board

Let’s hold them accountable

Express your outrage about the damage caused by the deceitful tobacco industry. You can make a difference by raising your voice.

Send an email

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

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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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Find a local group

Get connected with a local organization that’s fighting back against the tobacco industry and the toxic tobacco waste they create.¹²

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Content spotlight

a cigarette butts on the ground next to a drain

Cigarette butts are toxic waste

a green tube sticking out of a hole in the ground

Vapes: 3 types of toxic waste in 1

In the news

Microplastics are in our bodies. How much do they harm us?

The environmental argument for banning menthol cigarettes

How Cigarette Butts Are Our Ocean’s Biggest Pollution

Microplastics have been found in air, water, food and now ... human blood

Cigarette butts are toxic plastic pollution. Should they be banned?

Who Made that Cigarette Filter?

R.J. Reynolds Pivots to New Cigarette Pitches as Flavor Ban Takes Effect

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References

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UNDO

UNDO fights Big Tobacco's deadly epidemic with bold campaigns for healthier California communities.

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Find a local 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.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90010

(213) 351-7890

tgallow@ph.lacounty.gov

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To Whom It May Concern,

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I’m outraged by the damage and destruction caused by Big Tobacco. This ruthless industry is destroying the people and places I love.

The “filters” Big Tobacco puts on cigarettes to make them cheaper to produce are made with toxic microplastics and filter practically nothing. Microplastics can end up in our air, water, soil, and food – and may wind up in all of us. And research links microplastic exposure with mutations to DNA, problems with the lungs and blood, infertility issues, and intestinal damage.

The tobacco industry’s products, including vapes, are toxic waste that can’t be disposed of safely and are destroying our environment. All this pollution disproportionately impacts low-income populations and communities of color, too.

I can no longer stand aside and watch Big Tobacco devastate my community with its deadly products. We need your leadership.‍

Sincerely,

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Stop the tobacco industry from destroying the people and places I love

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When California leads, the rest of the country follows. When it comes to fighting Big Tobacco’s deadly epidemic, our state is no exception. In the past few decades, we’ve cut the adult smoking rate by over 60%, achieved the lowest youth vaping rate in the county, slashed lung cancer rates by 42%, and saved over one million Californians from tobacco-related deaths. Two California cities have already created healthier communities by ending the sale of tobacco products.

Despite monumental progress, Big Tobacco remains an urgent threat to our community’s health, particularly for kids. The tobacco industry has doubled down on their business model of making a profit by getting young people addicted to nicotine with products like vapes and oral nicotine pouches. They target our kids online and through social media tricking them into thinking nicotine is harmless. And even though California has the lowest youth vaping rate in the US, vapes are the most used tobacco products with 6% of high school youth currently vaping and use of oral nicotine pouches among California high school youth nearly doubled in one year.

Now is the moment to break the cycle of destruction Big Tobacco causes in our families and community—and we need your help. We have the power to create a better future for our kids, and it starts with keeping Big Tobacco from targeting them with addiction, disease, and death. With your leadership, we can undo Big Tobacco’s deadly epidemic.

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Question 1 of 4

Why do cigarette filters turn brown?

To make discarded butts easier to clean up

‍

Big Tobacco invented filters that turn brown to fool us into thinking they filter out toxic chemicals.² But they don’t – 480,000 Americans die from smoking cigarettes each year.³⁵⁸³

‍

The correct answer is: To fool us into thinking they filter out toxic chemicals³⁹

To fool us into thinking they filter out toxic chemicals

Filters turn brown after use to give the illusion that they’re protecting people from toxic chemicals.²³⁹²⁹ These plastic filters are actually just a huge marketing scam that do more damage than good.

‍

To show that they’re working

‍

Big Tobacco invented filters that turn brown to fool us into thinking they filter out toxic chemicals.² But they don’t – 480,000 Americans die from smoking cigarettes each year.³⁵⁸³

‍

The correct answer is: To fool us into thinking they filter out toxic chemicals³⁹

submit

Answer title

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Question 2 of 4

How many cigarettes does the tobacco industry produce each year?

6 million

‍

Most of these 6 trillion cigarette butts are made of microplastics that can contaminate our oceans, groundwater, and soil.⁴¹²⁷⁴⁷⁵ Microplastics are so tiny they can be invisible to the human eye, which makes them nearly impossible to clean up.⁴ Big Tobacco knows they’re polluting the planet with microplastics, but they don’t care.³⁹⁴⁸

‍

The correct answer is: 6 trillion¹²²¹

6 billion

‍

The correct answer is: 6 trillion¹²²¹

6 trillion

Most of these 6 trillion cigarette butts are made of microplastics that can contaminate our oceans, groundwater, and soil.⁴¹²⁷⁴⁷⁵ Big Tobacco knows they’re polluting the planet, but they try to put the blame on us by calling it a litter problem.³⁹⁴⁸

‍

submit

Answer title

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Question 3 of 4

Microplastics in our food and drinking water have been linked to which of these health issues?

Miscarriages and low sperm count

‍

Research suggests that microplastics are linked to all of these health issues.⁵⁶⁰⁶¹⁶⁴⁶⁵ Big Tobacco knows its products release harmful microplastics into the environment, where they can contaminate our food and drinking water.⁵⁶³⁹⁴⁸ They may also get eaten by marine life or other animals, which over time can harm entire ecosystems.⁸²

‍

The correct answer is: All of the above

Some types of cancer

‍

The correct answer is: All of the above

Intestinal inflammation

‍

The correct answer is: All of the above

All of the above

Research suggests that when they wind up inside of us, microplastics are linked to all of these health issues.⁵⁶⁰⁶¹⁶⁴⁶⁵ Big Tobacco knows its products release harmful microplastics into the environment where they can contaminate our food and drinking water.⁵⁶³⁹⁴⁸

‍

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Answer title

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Question 4 of 4

True or false? Unlike cigarette butts, discarded vapes don’t pollute the environment.

True

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Vapes absolutely cause environmental damage. They contain toxic chemicals and microplastics, plus heavy metals in the circuit board and battery.²²⁷⁶⁷⁷⁷⁸ These can leach into the environment.⁷⁹⁸⁰ In fact, even when vapes are disposed of in the trash, they still pose a fire risk.⁷⁸ There’s currently no safe way to get rid of vape waste.⁸¹

‍

The correct answer is: False

False

Vapes absolutely cause environmental damage. They contain microplastics and toxic chemicals, plus heavy metals in their circuit boards and batteries.²²⁷⁶⁷⁷⁷⁸ All of these can leach into the environment.⁷⁹⁸⁰

‍

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Answer title

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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.

learn more

You got {correct} out of {total}

Thanks for playing!

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.

learn more

The Little Big Lie

Big Tobacco’s cigarette butt lies threaten our health – and our planet – with microplastics4

The facts

Big Tobacco’s lie about filters may be the deadliest scam of all.56

[Cigarette] filters are the deadliest fraud in the history of human civilization. They are put on cigarettes to save on the cost of tobacco and to fool people … In the US, 400,000 people a year die from cigarettes – and those cigarettes almost all have filters.”262728

Tobacco waste isn’t any different than a lot of issues in our community, where the burden lies on low-income communities, communities of Black and Brown people, who have historically always borne the brunt of toxic exposure.”

The lies

Big Tobacco created filters to trick people into buying a “safer cigarette,” a deception designed to protect profits, not people.1019

Scam #1: Big Tobacco tricks customers with useless filters.1019

Scam #2: Big Tobacco’s color-changing filters mislead customers.60

Scam #3: Greenwashing: Big Tobacco denied their tobacco pollution harmed the environment.13

Scam #4: Big Tobacco dodges blame for toxic cigarette waste.

A pack of dangerous lies

The dangers

It’s scary to think that microplastics from cigarette butts could be making you or your loved ones sick. Here are some of the risks we all face because Big Tobacco spins dangerous lies.

DNA mutations55

Infertility55

Intestinal damage561

Microplastics are contaminating our food and water.

Microplastics could be inside of us all.

Tobacco pollution is a form of racial injustice.

Big Tobacco’s lies endanger our planet

It may come as a surprise that Americans ingest an estimated hundreds of thousands of microplastic particles a year. According to recent studies, microplastics have been found in human lungs, placenta, and blood; they've been linked to fertility issues, intestinal damage, and even mutations in DNA.

Let’s hold them accountable

Send an email

Send a tweet

Find a local group

Content spotlight

Cigarette butts are toxic waste

Vapes: 3 types of toxic waste in 1

In the news

Microplastics are in our bodies. How much do they harm us?

The environmental argument for banning menthol cigarettes

How Cigarette Butts Are Our Ocean’s Biggest Pollution

Microplastics have been found in air, water, food and now ... human blood

Cigarette butts are toxic plastic pollution. Should they be banned?

Who Made that Cigarette Filter?

R.J. Reynolds Pivots to New Cigarette Pitches as Flavor Ban Takes Effect

References

Find a local group

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Send an email

Why do cigarette filters turn brown?

The correct answer is: To fool us into thinking they filter out toxic chemicals39

The correct answer is: To fool us into thinking they filter out toxic chemicals39

Answer title

How many cigarettes does the tobacco industry produce each year?

The correct answer is: 6 trillion1221

The correct answer is: 6 trillion1221

Answer title

Microplastics in our food and drinking water have been linked to which of these health issues?

The correct answer is: All of the above

The correct answer is: All of the above

The correct answer is: All of the above

Answer title

True or false? Unlike cigarette butts, discarded vapes don’t pollute the environment.

The correct answer is: False

Answer title

You got {correct} out of {total}

Thanks for playing!

You got {correct} out of {total}

Thanks for playing!

Big Tobacco’s cigarette butt lies threaten our health – and our planet – with microplastics⁴

Big Tobacco’s lie about filters may be the deadliest scam of all.⁵⁶

[Cigarette] filters are the deadliest fraud in the history of human civilization. They are put on cigarettes to save on the cost of tobacco and to fool people … In the US, 400,000 people a year die from cigarettes – and those cigarettes almost all have filters.”²⁶²⁷²⁸

Big Tobacco created filters to trick people into buying a “safer cigarette,” a deception designed to protect profits, not people.¹⁰¹⁹

Scam #1: Big Tobacco tricks customers with useless filters.¹⁰¹⁹

Scam #2: Big Tobacco’s color-changing filters mislead customers.⁶⁰

Scam #3: Greenwashing: Big Tobacco denied their tobacco pollution harmed the environment.¹³

DNA mutations⁵⁵

Infertility⁵⁵

Intestinal damage⁵⁶¹

The correct answer is: To fool us into thinking they filter out toxic chemicals³⁹

The correct answer is: To fool us into thinking they filter out toxic chemicals³⁹

The correct answer is: 6 trillion¹²²¹

The correct answer is: 6 trillion¹²²¹