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The impacts of littered cigarette butts on the common periwinkle (Littorina littorea)
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This study assessed how cigarette butt litter affects the common periwinkle snail, examining the toxicity of cellulose acetate filter leachates on a widespread intertidal invertebrate following entry into waterways. Cigarette butt exposure caused measurable toxic effects in periwinkles, demonstrating that this globally abundant litter item poses a real ecological risk to coastal invertebrates.
Cigarette butts are one of the most abundant litter items worldwide with an estimated 4.5 trillion filters dropped each year. These small objects often end up in natural waterways through wastewater and flooding. Filters are made of cellulose acetate fibres and designed to capture the harmful chemicals of smoke, which makes them hazardous waste if disposed inappropriately. As well as chemical leachate, filters release microplastic fibres as they fragment. A laboratory mesocosm experiment was used to measure the impacts of leachate and microplastic fibres from cigarette butts on a marine gastropod (Littorina littorea) including mortality, growth, feeding rate, digestion, and water avoidance. Three concentrations of cigarette butt leachate (0.25CB/L, 0.5CB/L, 1CB/L) and three concentrations of filter microplastic (0.25F/L, 0.5F/L, 1F/L) were introduced to test difference in the impacts of physical and chemical stressors. Exposure to leachate altered water avoidance activity, decreased food intake, and increased mortality. Similarly, microplastic treatments also decreased food intake and increased mortality in high concentration tanks. This demonstrates a rapid stress response to both physical and chemical aspects of cigarette butt littering of a common grazer marine gastropod. Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/559463/document
More Papers Like This
The impacts of littered cigarette butts on the common periwinkle (Littorina littorea)
AI summary Read the abstract
This study assessed how littered cigarette butts, estimated at 4.5 trillion discarded annually, affect the common periwinkle snail after entering waterways, where cellulose acetate filters leach toxic chemicals. Cigarette butt exposure caused measurable harm to periwinkles, demonstrating that this overlooked litter type poses a genuine ecotoxicological risk.
Bioaccumulation and biological effects of cigarette litter in marine worms
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Researchers exposed ragworms — common coastal sediment-dwelling invertebrates — to toxicants leached from smoked cigarette filters, finding significant harm including over 30% weight loss, longer burrowing time, and doubled DNA damage at concentrations 60 times lower than those found in urban runoff. Cigarette litter, which makes up the largest share of coastal debris worldwide, poses a serious but underappreciated threat to marine life through its chemical pollution.
Cigarette Butt Pollution in Aquatic Ecosystems: Sources, Environmental Fate, Ecotoxicological Impacts and Mitigation Strategies
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Cigarette butts are one of the world's most common types of litter, and this review shows they leak toxic chemicals and tiny plastic fibers into rivers, lakes, and oceans, harming fish and other wildlife. These pollutants can build up in aquatic animals, meaning they could eventually make their way into the seafood we eat, so reducing cigarette litter matters for both ecosystems and our own health.
A Review of Environmental Pollution from the Use and Disposal of Cigarettes and Electronic Cigarettes: Contaminants, Sources, and Impacts
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Researchers reviewed the environmental pollution caused by the use and disposal of cigarettes and electronic cigarettes, including their role as a source of microplastic contamination. Cigarette butts made of cellulose acetate are minimally degradable and represent a major source of both bulk plastic and microplastic pollution, particularly in aquatic ecosystems. The study documents that cigarette butt leachate and nicotine are toxic to a wide range of organisms from microbes to mammals.
Cigarette butts as a source of urban ecosystem pollution
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Cigarette butts—the world's most littered item at ~4.5 trillion discarded annually—introduce over 4,000 chemicals into ecosystems and are a major source of microplastic fibers from cellulose acetate filters, with this review analyzing the toxicity of cigarette butt filtrate to aquatic and terrestrial organisms.
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