When you think of single-use plastics, do cigarettes come to mind? They should. Cigarette filters, which are in nearly all commercially made cigarettes, contain plastic. When it comes to single-use plastic pollution, they’re no different from plastic bags or bottles—only more common. The industry knows its filters are contributing to this global environmental threat, but keeps producing them anyway.

Cigarette filters contain a type of plastic called cellulose acetate. When they’re discarded, they can degrade into microplastics.

The problem is big. Cigarette butts are the most common form of single-use plastic waste, and the industry continues to manufacture trillions more every year. Industry-sponsored litter clean-ups don’t even come close to solving the problem.

Independent research shows that filters do not make smoking healthier. The industry markets filters as a way to make cigarettes seem safer, but they can actually increase the harms of smoking, including when smokers inhale and ingest the plastic fibers found in filters.

The plastic contained in cigarettes is harmful to people and the environment. That’s why cigarettes must be regulated as a single-use plastic.

Download the fact sheet to learn more.