Electronic cigarettes, an environmental disaster without a solution

The rapid growth in the consumption of electronic cigarettes, particularly among younger generations, poses a new environmental problem. The devices, containing batteries and plastics, are becoming a new massive source of waste. Produced in large quantities, with no recycling solution, electronic cigarettes call into question the responsibility of their manufacturers.[1].

In the United States, e-cigarette use levels are epidemic, according to the Truth Initiative. In fact, nearly one in five high school students were e-cigarette users in 2020. Between 2015 and 2020, retail sales of e-cigarettes (outside of the internet and tobacco stores) increased fivefold, leading to massive littering.

More than half of young consumers reported throwing their e-cigarette capsules in a regular trash can, according to a survey conducted in the United States. In fact, 17% of respondents mentioned throwing these capsules in recycling bins not designed for this type of product, while one in ten young consumers said they threw this waste on the ground. As a result, only 15% of young e-cigarette users reported having deposited their equipment in accordance with the recommended procedures. These figures mainly reflect a lack of information: overall, almost half of those surveyed do not know what to do with e-cigarette waste, whether plastic or electronic (49.1%).

Manufacturers' liability

The environmental responsibility for managing this waste does not fall solely on the consumer. Many e-cigarettes, such as Juul, use single-use plastic nicotine pods. Other e-cigarette brands are even designed to be single-use. This is particularly the case for the Puff Bar, whose consumption increased by 1,000% among high school students between 2019 and 2020. According to the Truth Initiative, the e-cigarette industry does not provide enough information to consumers. Indeed, 47% of them pointed out that the e-cigarette was not accompanied by any instructions indicating the steps to follow to recycle or dispose of the waste related to its consumption.

Industry in need of environmental solutions

Electronic cigarette manufacturers have also flooded the market and encouraged consumption through aggressive marketing strategies, without developing a solution for the end-of-life management of their waste. Even today, there is no documented standard for the disposal of these products, nor any obligation on the part of manufacturers. By not providing any information on waste management, manufacturers are placing their environmental responsibility on the shoulders of consumers.

Pollution even more serious than cigarette butts

However, e-cigarette waste poses a serious environmental threat. The plastic from e-cigarettes is non-biodegradable waste. Abandoned in nature after a long time, the product decomposes, releasing micro-plastics, polluting waterways, fauna, or flora. Finally, batteries, composed in particular of heavy metals (lead, mercury), and lithium, pose a major environmental challenge. In 2017, a scientific study already estimated that global consumption of e-cigarettes represented more than 450,000 tons of waste per year, while no solution exists for their elimination[2].

Environmental responsibility, an advertising lever for manufacturers

Even as e-cigarette and tobacco manufacturers create an increasingly urgent environmental problem, they are quick to focus their public relations efforts on the notion of corporate social responsibility. The tobacco industry, which is increasingly seeking to take control of the e-cigarette market, is, for example, increasing its public relations efforts on reducing cigarette butt waste. In reality, these efforts serve to divert public attention from an embarrassing fact for the industry: the filtered has no health justification, and more and more anti-smoking experts are calling for it to be banned.

[1] Truth Initiative, A toxic, plastic problem: E-cigarette waste and the environment, March 8, 2021 (accessed 03/09/2021)

[2] Hendlin YH. Alert: Public Health Implications of Electronic Cigarette Waste. Am J Public Health. 2018;108(11):1489-1490. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304699