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Papers
20 resultsShowing papers similar to A Review of Environmental Pollution from the Use and Disposal of Cigarettes and Electronic Cigarettes: Contaminants, Sources, and Impacts
ClearA review on cigarette butts: Environmental abundance, characterization, and toxic pollutants released into water from cigarette butts
This review examines the environmental impact of discarded cigarette butts, which number in the trillions worldwide each year and are among the most common litter items. Researchers found that cigarette filters release harmful substances including heavy metals, nicotine, and cellulose acetate microplastic fibers when they enter water. The study highlights that cigarette butt pollution represents a significant but often overlooked source of both chemical contamination and microplastic pollution in aquatic environments.
Cigarette 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.
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.
Microplastic fibers and leachates from cigarette butts: environmental impacts, toxicological concerns, and circular economy-driven solutions
This review of existing research shows that cigarette butts are the world's most common plastic trash, slowly breaking down into tiny plastic fibers that spread harmful chemicals like nicotine and heavy metals into water and soil. These microplastics hurt fish and other animals by changing their behavior and building up in their bodies, which could affect the entire food chain. Since humans eat fish and use water from these contaminated environments, cigarette butt pollution may pose health risks that need more research and better cleanup solutions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Effects of microplastics from cigarette filters on two aquatic species and in vitro human lung cells
Researchers assessed the ecotoxicological effects of microplastics derived from cigarette filters on two aquatic species and conducted in vitro tests for human cellular toxicity. Cigarette filter microplastics caused harm to both aquatic organisms and human cells, confirming them as a toxicologically relevant source.
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.
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.
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.
Microplastics from cigarette filters: Comparative effects on selected terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates
Researchers generated raw data comparing the effects of microplastics derived from cigarette filters on selected terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, supporting a published study in Environmental Pollution examining the comparative toxicity of cigarette filter-derived microplastics across different organism types.