Plastic treaty: strong support from countries for banning cigarette filters during negotiations

The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) charged with developing a legally binding international treaty to end plastic pollution concluded on April 29, 2024 in Ottawa, Canada, after a week of slow but significant. The Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA) and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), present at the negotiations, welcomed the support of government delegations for the ban on cigarette filters, despite the strong presence of lobbyists from the industries concerned at these negotiations[1].

The list of plastics to be banned will be finalized during the fifth session of negotiations to be held from November 25, 2024 in Busan, Republic of Korea. However, taking into account the established criteria, cigarette filters are at the top of the list. Around 4.5 trillion used filters are thrown into the environment every year. The filters are made of cellulose acetate which breaks down into microplastics which take a long time to degrade and which release toxins and carcinogens into terrestrial and aquatic environments.

Recycling cigarette filters is not a viable solution. There is no process to remove toxins, recycle plastic, or turn recycled plastic into other products.

Several countries support the ban on cigarette filters

During negotiations, several countries proposed banning cigarette filters, including Peru, Panama and Switzerland. The World Health Organization also made a joint statement with the Secretariat of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) calling for a ban on cigarette filters and other single-use plastic product waste. Their joint statement calls on the Committee to recognize the WHO FCTC COP10 decision on the impact of tobacco on the environment.

Significant presence of industry lobbyists at negotiations

Analysis[2] of the list of participants of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) revealed that 196 lobbyists from the fossil fuel and chemical industries are registered for the negotiations in Canada, more than the 180 representatives of the European Union delegations.

According to Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC)[3], at least five NGO observers were found to have ties to tobacco companies. GGTC specifies, however, that this list is not exhaustive and that several other entities linked to the tobacco industry or supporting its interests have not yet been included in this list. Only entities with documented long-standing ties to the tobacco industry (TI) have been included at this time.

To prevent industry interference during negotiations, CIEL, GGTC and ASH sent a letter, signed by more than 100 organizations, on April 17, 2024, to Executive Director Anderson and Secretary Mathur-Filipp of the Committee Secretariat requesting that the latter applies article 5.3 of the FCTC. This article constitutes a general obligation aimed at protecting the general interest from the category interests of manufacturers whose interests are irreconcilably opposed. This standard therefore aims to protect the negotiations and the outcome of the plastics treaty from conflicts of interest. This standard also aims in the implementation of the treaty to adopt codes of conduct consistent with established policies. Article 5.3 could thus be used by the Secretariat and the Committee as a model for policies to protect against other conflicts of interest arising from the petrochemical and plastics industries.

©Tobacco Free Generation

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[1] Communicated, UN Plastics Treaty Negotiations Move Forward with Strong Support for Banning Cigarette Filters, Action on smoking and Health, published April 30, 2024, accessed May 3, 2024

[2] Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Outnumber National Delegations, Scientists, and Indigenous Peoples at Plastics Treaty Negotiations, Center for International Environmental Law, published April 25, 2024, accessed May 3, 2024

[3] Tobacco Industry Must Be Removed from Plastics Treaty Negotiations, GGTC, published May 1, 2024, accessed May 3, 2024