Should filters in cigarettes be banned?

While filters have been identified as the "deadliest fraud in the history of human civilization"[1], almost all cigarettes smoked around the world contain it. In an article published on April 26, 2021 in the journal Tobacco Control, researchers call on public health and environmental stakeholders to work towards its ban[2].

The first filters appeared on the market around 1860, and had only one objective of comfort of consumption, aiming to prevent pieces of tobacco from entering the smoker's mouth. It was not until the 1950s that the filter composed of cellulose acetate, as we know it today, appeared. Developed by the tobacco industry, its purpose was to respond to the initial concerns of smokers about the dangers of their consumption. Indeed, while the link between lung cancer and tobacco consumption is an established knowledge among manufacturers, awareness among the general public is only just beginning.

Responding to consumer concerns with false solutions

From the beginning, filters were marketed by cigarette manufacturers as a tool to reduce the risks of tobacco consumption. As such, as the journal Tobacco Control points out, the very choice of the name "filter" is misleading, in that it suggests a reduction in health harm. Over time, still in response to consumer concerns about health risks, the tobacco industry developed other filter models. In the 1970s and 1980s, manufacturers offered filters with holes on the sides. As a result, when cigarettes are tested by machines, they indicate a lower yield of tar and nicotine. In reality, when cigarettes are consumed by a real smoker, the latter's fingers block the holes, preventing the reduction of nicotine and tar levels. In other words, these operations seek two objectives. On the one hand, the manufacturers aim to reduce the perception of risk, not the risk itself. On the other hand, these filters allow the industry to comply with restrictive standards that do not correspond to any reality in a situation of consumption by a smoker.

Filters associated with increased health risks for smokers

The vast majority of independent studies show that the use of filters in tobacco consumption is not accompanied by a reduction in health risks for the smoker. On the tobacco industry side, the lack of health benefits of the filter has been known since the 1960s. Above all, the scientific literature shows that the use of filters is associated with an increase in risks for the smoker. First, to maintain their nicotine intake, smokers take deeper and more prolonged puffs, leading to an increase in the toxicity and addictiveness of their consumption. Then, the toxic fibers present at the cut end of the filter are inhaled and ingested by smokers. Finally, the presence of filters alters consumers' perception of the real risks incurred. As a result, the widespread use of filters on cigarettes has contributed to the increase in pulmonary adenocarcinomas.[3], a malignant lung tumor, responsible for nearly 30% of lung cancers.

The major environmental impact of filters

Beyond having no health justification, the filter is a major environmental issue. Every year, it is estimated that 4.5 billion filters are thrown away and end up in nature. The marine ecosystem is massively and sustainably polluted as a result: filters are among the ten most widespread plastics in the oceans. Made of cellulose acetate, they take ten to fifteen years to decompose in nature, and release thousands of toxic chemicals, with one cigarette butt being able to pollute up to 500 liters of water. As the authors point out, many single-use plastics were banned by the European Union in 2019, but initial proposals for Member States to reduce plastic waste from 80% cigarettes by 2030 were abandoned in favor of non-binding measures.

An ideal lever for communication and public relations

The tobacco industry must now contribute to the costs of cleaning, collecting and processing waste, according to the polluter pays principle. In addition, manufacturers are required to participate in raising public awareness about the issue of plastic contained in filters. This awareness-raising obligation is now identified by the tobacco industry as a means of communication. For the same reasons, manufacturers are increasingly interested in marketing so-called biodegradable filters. In reality, these filters are only truly biodegradable before consumption: after exposure to tobacco smoke, they contain a large number of highly toxic substances, such as heavy metals. Finally, researchers point out the risk of rehabilitating the tobacco industry as a responsible social actor through these operations. In fact, manufacturers are exploiting the filter issue to impose partnerships with public authorities. Furthermore, the "biodegradable" filter solution does not resolve the issue of its danger to the health of smokers.

Filters, the great forgotten of European regulations

Currently, European regulations prohibit the use of misleading descriptors, particularly those related to taste or health, such as "light" or "organic" cigarettes. In this fight against disinformation, the design and innovations of filters are the great forgotten of the regulations. This regulatory loophole allows the tobacco industry to promote its products, particularly to its partners and investors. In France, for example, advertising for tobacco remains authorized in the professional press, such as the Revue des Tabacs. The industry can thus communicate on these innovations, like hollow filters, in particular intended to camouflage part of the coloring of the filter after consumption.

[1] New York Times, Who Made That Cigarette Filter?, 06/07/2012, (accessed 04/27/2021)

[2] Evans-Reeves K, Lauber K, Hiscock R, The 'filter fraud' persists: the tobacco industry is still using filters to suggest lower health risks while destroying the environment, Tobacco Control Published Online First: 26 April 2021. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056245

[3] Min-Ae Song, Neal L Benowitz, Micah Berman, Theodore M Brasky, K Michael Cummings, Dorothy K Hatsukami, Catalin Marian, Richard O'Connor, Vaughan W Rees, Casper Woroszylo, Peter G Shields, Cigarette Filter Ventilation and its Relationship to Increasing Rates of Lung Adenocarcinoma, JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Volume 109, Issue 12, December 2017, djx075, https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djx075

National Committee Against Smoking |