Small Steps: Choosing a Healthy Sustainable Life: Putting a Price on Pollution: Could a Deposit on Cigarette Filters Help Solve Health and Environmental Issues?

Monday 22 July 2024

Putting a Price on Pollution: Could a Deposit on Cigarette Filters Help Solve Health and Environmental Issues?

True or False?

Cigarette filters significantly reduce the health risks associated with smoking?

The Shocking Truth

If you're like me, you probably answered "True". Of course cigarette filters significantly reduce health risks! That's why there are filters on cigarettes in the first place, right? And we've all seen the brown stains no the filter end after someone has smoked, right? So the filters must be filtering out some gunk. Right?

Not so much.

Filters do trap the bigger particles of tar but... they also make the smoke "milder". Smokers tend to take bigger puffs on filtered cigarettes, which means that the smoke travels deeper into the lungs. And guess what... the smaller particles of tar are NOT trapped in filters and... they just travel deeper into the lungs. Think about it... if filters were stopping the toxins... wouldn't the end of the filter remain white? The bit that goes in the mouth? Just sayin...

So, the answer is... False... cigarette filters do not signficantly reduce the health risks associated with smoking. In the meantime... the environmental impacts of cigarette filters are HUGE.

Eco-Impacts

Cigarette filter fibres are made of cellulose acetate, a type of plastic that takes years to decompose. In the meantime, toxic substances absorbed from cigarette smoke leach into the environment. Not to mention the ones ingested by wildlife. We all know the impacts are bad... and if you don't, then read this link from the World Health Organization.

Cigarette butts are THE most littered man-made item in the world. Of the 5.6 trillion cigarettes smoked every year (ballpark estimate)... about 80% end up as litter... that is 4.5 trillion cigarette butts.

Oh, and let's not even mention the wildfire risks associated with discarded cigarette butts.

Alternatives

There are different options to today's cigarette filters...

1. No Filters

One option is to produce cigarettes without any filters. Today's cigarette filters are not a necessary component of cigarettes and their removal would eliminate the health and environmental issues associated with them. People could use cigarette holders or simply smoke unfiltered cigarettes. Of course, there would still be health risks associated with smoking.

2. Biodegradable Filters

Developing filters made from biodegradable materials, such as plant-based fibers or paper, could help reduce the environmental impact. These filters would break down more quickly in the environment and reduce plastic pollution.

3. Cigarette Holders

Cigarette holders are reusable devices that can be used to hold a cigarette while smoking. They were widely used in the early 1900s and were stylish fashion accessories. While cigarette holders don't filter the smoke, they do reduce direct contact between the lips and the cigarette, which may help reduce staining of teeth and fingers. Some cigarette holders are even being marketed as having built-in filters.

4. Reduced-Harm Products

Another approach is to promote reduced-harm products like electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) or heat-not-burn devices. While these are not without their own health concerns, they are generally considered less harmful than traditional cigarettes and do not use the same types of filters.

5. Filter Disposal Solutions

If traditional filters continue to be used, providing better disposal solutions for filters could help mitigate environmental issues. Encouraging proper disposal and recycling of filters can reduce litter and pollution. If all of the cigarette filters actually ended up in a appropriate disposal stream, the world would be a better place.

But... given that the city of Vancouver has an estimated 450,000 cigarette butts being littered on city streets EVERY DAY... the issue comes back to human actions. And we all know how well humans change their habits.

6. Fines

Some jurisdictions (e.g. the US state of Washington) have significant fines for littering cigarette butts ($1000). But you actually have to catch the offender in the act, and the odds of that are low, unless you had an army of bylaw officers standing around.

7. Deposit System

There is one group in Europe that is suggesting the introduction of a filter deposit system, similar to what some jurisdictions do with drink containers.

They suggest introducing a 20 cent deposit on each cigarette filter (so 4 Euros/package). A pocket ashtray would be issued with every pack of cigarettes. Customers who returned the full pocket ashtray along with the empty cigarette package would get their deposit money back.

The group suggests that all of this could be funded by the tobacco industry and overseen by the state.

It's an intriguing option that might encourage habit change in smokers. There would also be an incentive for people to pick up the butts and cigarette packages that litter city streets, similar to bottles and cans that end up on the street.

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada suggested a filter deposit system back in 2014... but it would appear that nothing has moved on that.

8. Recycle by Mail

And then we have a final option... where you can recycle your cigarette butts by mail. Yep, you read that right. Unsmoke has partnered with TerraCycle in Canada to sponsor a FREE program whereby you put all of your butts into a container, print out a mail label and ship it off to TerraCycle.

I suppose this might be good for... businesses? Who have a smoking area for staff? Or maybe a really, really conscientious smoker will save all of their butts at home, pack them up and send them off. Maybe. They also take tobacco pouches, rolling papers, the foil thing from inside the cigarette package, and the exterior plastic wrap.

Businesses can also register to become a Drop off Point, where people can bring their smoking materials. I had a look and there aren't a heck of a lot of them in BC yet. Although Tofino and Ucluelet have gone to town with this and have dozens of places that accept these used smoking materials.

Although... as an Airbnb host, who often hosts guests who smoke outside... we could collect their butts and mail them off to TerraCycle. We already have to pick the butts out of the can-of-wet-sand ashtray soooo... why not just stockpile those and send it off. Might just do that.

Conclusion

The thing with many of these "solutions" is that they rest on the consumer or the smoker. It's up to us to recycle plastic packaging that seems to have proliferated everywhere... even though many admit that the recycling system is broken. It's up to us to figure out what to do with cigarette butts. It's up to the smoker to decide whether or not to toss that butt or save it and then mail a collection back to TerraCycle. Or... in an age where Decision Fatigue is rampant... just toss the thing out the car window and be done with it. Or drop it on the sidewalk and let it be someone else's problem.

Surely some responsibility rests on the corporations that take the easy route, or the profitable route, to deal with the problems that THEY have created. Us collecting cigarette butts from our Airbnb guests might not save the world... but it is a small step.

Small Steps: Choosing a Healthy Sustainable Life