Time to kick the butt of the most common litter item in the world: Ban cigarette filters

Green, Dannielle S.; Almroth, Bethanie Carney; Altman, Rebecca; Bergmann, Melanie; Gündoğdu, Sedat; Warrier, Anish Kumar; Boots, Bas; Walker, Tony R.; Krieger, Anja; Syberg, Kristian

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161256

Cited by 21 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Littering is an interesting example in this context. While plastic packaging and the cigarette filters may have a function (although the function of the latter has been questioned (Green et al, 2023)), littering does not have a function as an activity, and, in Sweden, this act is illegal. Yet, it is probably a large source, and in practice, the control of it depends on the behaviour of the inhabitants, who can only be nudged in a certain direction by the municipality.…”

Section: Future Mitigation Of Flows Of Microplasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigating Microplastics Pollution in Urban Water Systems : Flow, actors, and control measures

Fältström

2023

Linköping Studies in Science and Technology. Dissertations

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… the EU-Interreg Baltic Sea programme, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, and the Swedish Water and Wastewater Association for funding this research. …my supervisors. First, to Stefan, thank you for the honest critique and for always trying to make everything as good as possible, and all the words of wisdom. I carry with me many lessons on the academic life from you. To Annica for being the most engaged person I have ever met, for always being there to discuss small and large matters, and for all the kind words. I carry with me many lessons on life in general from you. To Hamse for taking on supervising me in addition to the other million things you do and for being the champion the water sector needs! To the past supervisors: Hb, Sara, and Marinette. … the Swedish water sector. There is so much drive, companionship, and energy. Thanks to those of you who participated in my research, helped out with sampling, and answered questions. Thanks to those of you that I met at conferences and who asked engaged questions, and to those who I see as my colleagues. …the project partners in FanPLESStic-Sea for giving me new perspectives. A special thanks to Heléne Österlund, I have had fun and learned a lot from working with you. Thanks also to my co-authors at Aalborg University: Kristina

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Section: Future Mitigation Of Flows Of Microplasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigating Microplastics Pollution in Urban Water Systems : Flow, actors, and control measures

Fältström

2023

Linköping Studies in Science and Technology. Dissertations

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“…Social marketers must also create teaching initiatives to help people match their ecological views with their actual actions and behavior. The present environmental challenges pertaining to climate change such as heat islands, massive floodings, or droughts may be used to argue that environmental wellbeing should be prioritized [25,26].…”

Section: Theoretical and Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smokers’ Attitude and Behavior towards Cigarette Littering in Romania: A Survey-Based Approach

et al. 2023

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Cigarette butts continue to be a significantly detrimental challenge for both human health and the quality of the environment and life in general. The escalating accumulation of inadequately discarded cigarette butts continues unabated, in spite of the myriad legislative procedures that have been instituted by authorities with the objective of incentivizing diminution of this phenomenon. For decades, the scientific literature has discussed the importance of smokers’ behavior and beliefs in contributing to the problem. Thus, the objective of this study is to analyze cigarette butt littering behavior using a survey-based questionnaire. A total of 1643 complete responses were collected from Romanian smokers addressing their knowledge, practices, and views regarding the disposal of cigarette butts. According to the findings, awareness about the impacts and characteristics of cigarette butts is problematic, as are smokers’ self-reported explanations for their conduct. Specifically, more than 30% of the sample stated that cigarette butts are biodegradable, and 31.5% believe that cigarette butts are not toxic to the environment. The results also showed that only 19.7% of the smokers strongly believed that they should be considered accountable for their behavior. Future study directions are provided to advance studies in this area and improve present approaches to lessen the frequency of this behavior.

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“…Tobacco consumption dates from the early 19th century, and at the end of the 20th century, cigarettes emerged as a tobacco smoking method worldwide owing to their low cost and nicotine absorption efficiency (Kurmus & Mohajerani, 2020). Approximately 75% of smokers reported discarding their cigarette butts (CBs) directly into the environment; annually, 6 trillion cigarettes are smoked and approximately 4.5 trillion cigarettes are discarded, which corresponds to more than 1 million tons of polymeric waste release, because filters are composed of cellulose acetate fibers (Araújo & Costa, 2019a;Barnes, 2011;Green et al, 2022Green et al, , 2023Kurmus & Mohajerani, 2020;Soleimani et al, 2023). Discarded CBs can be washed into storm drains, reach rivers, and eventually be washed out to the sea, although in coastal areas direct littering is the main route of CB waste to marine environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been estimated that cigarettes contain more than 7000 chemicals, at least 150 of which are toxic (Araújo & Costa, 2019b); considering the leaching potential, CBs can be considered a diffuse source of contamination (Akhbarizadeh, et al, 2021;Green et al, 2022Green et al, , 2023. In addition, given the massive volume of CBs discharged into the environment, longterm contamination by different chemical groups is expected to occur during leaching, potentially posing a threat to biota.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other groups of chemicals released at high concentrations include aromatic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), carbonyls, nitrosamines, phenols, and insecticides (Lucia et al, 2023; Soleimani et al, 2023; Torkashvand et al, 2020). Therefore, CB leachates are a complex mixture of substances that should be addressed as emerging contaminants originating from an unhealthy lifestyle, with no benefit and high cost for clean‐up (Green et al, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Waterborne Toxicity to Neotropical Invertebrates and Hazard of Cigarette Butt Leachates in Marine Environments

Mandelli,

Pestana,

Choueri

et al. 2023

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Cigarette butts (CBs) are the most common type of beach litter worldwide and contain a complex mixture of chemicals. Given the recent interest in this emerging problem, it is important to assess the toxicity of CB leachates to a range of species from different regions, sensitivities, and ecological traits. We evaluated the waterborne toxicity of smoked CB to tropical invertebrates. Leachates were prepared in the laboratory and characterized for trace elements (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb), ammonia nitrogen, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Then a set of toxicity tests with marine invertebrates was performed as follows: the brine shrimp Artemia sp. (nontoxic); the amphipod Tiburonella viscana (median lethal concentration [LC50] of 0.038 CB/L); the tanaid Monokalliapseudes schubarti (LC50 of 0.126 CB/L); the copepods Tisbe biminiensis (median effect concentration [EC50] of 0.038 CB/L) and Nitokra sp. (EC50 of 0.009 CB/L); pluteus stage larvae of the sea urchin Echinometra lucunter (EC50 of 0.152 CB/L); the sand dollar Mellita quinquiesperforata (EC50 of 0.054 CB/L); and D‐stage larvae of the mussel Perna perna (EC50 of 0.005 CB/L). The predicted no‐effect concentration was estimated using species sensitivity distribution, producing a 5th percentile hazard concentration of 0.015 CB/L. This preliminary threshold allowed us to estimate the potential impact of a single CB to 67 L of seawater via leaching, contributing to the advancement of knowledge regarding the contamination, toxicity, and ecological risks of cigarette waste. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;00:1–11. © 2023 SETAC

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Time to kick the butt of the most common litter item in the world: Ban cigarette filters

Cited by 21 publications

References 19 publications

Mitigating Microplastics Pollution in Urban Water Systems : Flow, actors, and control measures

Mitigating Microplastics Pollution in Urban Water Systems : Flow, actors, and control measures

Smokers’ Attitude and Behavior towards Cigarette Littering in Romania: A Survey-Based Approach

Waterborne Toxicity to Neotropical Invertebrates and Hazard of Cigarette Butt Leachates in Marine Environments

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