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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to A review on cigarette butts: Environmental abundance, characterization, and toxic pollutants released into water from cigarette butts
ClearCigarette butts as a source of urban ecosystem pollution
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.
A Review of Environmental Pollution from the Use and Disposal of Cigarettes and Electronic Cigarettes: Contaminants, Sources, and Impacts
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.
Smoked cigarette butts: Unignorable source for environmental microplastic fibers
Researchers highlight that discarded cigarette butts, made of cellulose acetate plastic, are an overlooked but major source of environmental microplastic fibers, with each butt containing over 15,000 detachable plastic strands. They estimate that approximately 300,000 tons of potential microplastic fibers from cigarette butts may enter aquatic environments annually. The study notes that these fibers also carry toxic substances like nicotine and carcinogenic compounds that can harm aquatic organisms.
Tiny but Deadly: a Threat to Environment
This study quantified toxic metals leaching from discarded cigarette butts — the most common form of plastic litter — finding that both the filter and the whole butt release metals into water. Cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate plastic and represent a poorly recognized source of chemical pollution in the environment.
Cigarette filters as a major source of microfibers in aquatic environments.
This study found that discarded cigarette butts persistently release cellulose acetate microfibers into aquatic environments, identifying cigarette filters as a major and underappreciated source of microfiber pollution. The research quantified microfiber release rates under simulated environmental conditions.
Cigarette butts as a microfiber source with a microplastic level of concern
Researchers investigated whether cigarette butts are a significant source of microfiber pollution by analyzing smoked and unsmoked filters. They found that cigarette filters release large quantities of cellulose acetate microfibers, with smoked filters releasing even more than unsmoked ones due to degradation during use. The study identifies discarded cigarette butts as an overlooked but substantial contributor to microplastic pollution in the environment.
The Content of Heavy Metals in Cigarettes and the Impact of Their Leachates on the Aquatic Ecosystem
Researchers analyzed heavy metal content in cigarettes and their leachates, finding that discarded cigarette butts release significant concentrations of metals including cadmium, lead, and chromium into aquatic ecosystems, posing hazards to water quality and living organisms.
Different faces of cigarette butts, the most abundant beach litter worldwide.
Cigarette butts collected from an urban beach were characterized at different stages of physical and chemical degradation, revealing they shed cellulose acetate microplastic fibers and leach toxic chemicals as they break down. As the most abundant beach litter worldwide, cigarette butts represent a significant but often overlooked source of plastic fibers and chemical contamination in marine environments.
Global cigarette butt contamination: a review
This review of 130 studies found that cigarette butts are everywhere in our environment—averaging about 1 butt for every 4 square meters globally—and they're especially common on beaches and in water where people swim and fish. These toxic cigarette filters break down into harmful chemicals and microplastics that can contaminate our water and food supply. The good news is that well-protected areas like national parks have nearly 10 times fewer cigarette butts, showing that proper management can reduce this health threat.
A review of occurrence and concentrations of cellulose acetate and other artificial cellulose microfibers in aquatic environmental matrices: an indicator of cigarette butts’ contamination?
This review examines the occurrence of cellulose acetate microfibers in aquatic environments, primarily originating from discarded cigarette butts, which are among the most littered items worldwide. The authors found that cellulose acetate is one of the most frequently detected microfiber types in water, sediment, and marine organisms, with higher accumulations in sediment and bottom-dwelling animals. The study suggests that cellulose acetate levels could serve as an indicator of cigarette butt contamination in the environment.
The impacts of littered cigarette butts on the common periwinkle (Littorina littorea)
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.
Microplastics from cigarette filters: Comparative effects on selected terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates
Researchers compared the effects of microplastics from smoked and unsmoked cigarette filters on both land and water invertebrates. Smoked filter microplastics were more toxic due to the added chemicals from tobacco smoke, causing reduced survival and reproduction in the test organisms. Since cigarette butts are one of the most littered items worldwide, this study shows they are a significant and underappreciated source of toxic microplastic pollution in the environment.
Review on Recycling of Microplastics in Cigarette Butts
This review examined the problem of cigarette butt waste, noting that cellulose acetate filters take approximately 10 years to degrade and represent a globally pervasive source of microplastic pollution. The authors surveyed recycling approaches for cigarette butts including fiber recovery and use in construction materials.
The unignorable ecological impact of cigarette butts in the ocean: an underestimated and under-researched concern
This opinion piece argues that cigarette butts — which contain plastic cellulose acetate filters that fragment into microplastics — are a significantly underestimated source of ocean plastic pollution. Billions of cigarette butts are discarded each year, and recognizing them as a major microplastic source is important for designing more effective litter-reduction policies.
Research on the presence of cigarette butts and their leaching of chemical pollutants and microparticles: the case of Dalian, China
This study quantified toxic substances (heavy metals, PAHs, and microplastics) leached from littered cigarette butts from major Chinese brands, providing data on the pollution contribution of cigarette butt litter in urban Chinese environments.
The Hidden Threat of Microplastics in Traditional Cigarettes: A Narrative Review of Health and Environmental Risks
This review reveals that microplastics have been detected in 99% of cigarette filters, meaning smokers are inhaling and ingesting these particles with every cigarette. Microplastics have been found in the blood, lungs, placenta, and feces of the general population, but smokers face particularly high exposure. The improper disposal of cigarette butts also releases microplastics into the environment, making cigarettes a significant and overlooked source of microplastic pollution.
The environmental and health impacts of tobacco agriculture, cigarette manufacture and consumption
This review examines the environmental footprint of tobacco beyond the well-known health harms, covering impacts at every stage from crop growing to cigarette butt disposal. Cigarette filters — which are made of plastic — are among the most common items found in environmental litter surveys, contributing both microplastics and toxic chemicals to soil and water.
Quantitative assessment and spatial distribution of macroplastic and cigarette butt contamination in Bushehr's stormwater system near the sensitive Persian Gulf coast
This study assessed the abundance and spatial distribution of macroplastics and cigarette butts across multiple sites, quantifying their contribution to environmental microplastic pollution as cellulose acetate filters degrade. Cigarette butts emerged as a significant and underappreciated source of plastic contamination in terrestrial and aquatic environments.
Littered cigarette butts in both coastal and inland cities of China: occurrence and environmental risk assessment
Researchers surveyed cigarette butt pollution across four Chinese cities, both coastal and inland, assessing contamination levels and heavy metal leaching risks. The study found that cigarette butts release microplastics and heavy metal particles, with contamination patterns varying by land use type and city development level, highlighting cigarette waste as an underappreciated source of microplastic pollution.
Koja je cijena pušenja? – Opasnosti za okoliš
This Croatian paper reviews the environmental hazards of cigarette butt litter, noting that approximately 80% of cigarette butts are discarded into the environment. Cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate, a polymer that degrades slowly and leaches toxic chemicals into soil and water. The authors discuss biodegradable filter alternatives as a strategy to reduce plastic pollution from tobacco products.
Microplastics and toxic leachate from littered cigarette butts threaten the environment, biodiversity, and human well-being
Observation of a butterfly drinking from a littered cigarette butt prompted this review of the environmental and health impacts of cigarette waste, highlighting cigarette filters as a major source of microplastic pollution and calling for sustainable mitigation measures from manufacturers and policymakers.
Effects of microplastics from cigarette filters on two aquatic species and in vitro human lung cells
Researchers examined the effects of microplastics from cigarette filters on two aquatic species and conducted in vitro cell tests to assess human health risks. Cigarette filter microplastics caused toxicity in both aquatic organisms and human cells, underscoring the environmental and health hazards of this overlooked microplastic source.
Fate of nanoplastics in the environment: Implication of the cigarette butts
This study investigated cigarette butts as an underrecognized source of nanoplastic pollution, finding that cellulose acetate filters can fragment into nanoscale particles that disperse in the environment. Given the enormous volume of cigarette litter worldwide, butts may represent a significant and overlooked nanoplastic pathway.
Microplastics from cigarette filters: Comparative effects on selected terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates
Researchers compared the effects of microplastics derived from cigarette filters on selected terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, examining differences in toxicity across species and environments in a study published in Environmental Pollution.