(Newswire.net — October 26, 2019) — Scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Disease have called for a global ban on cigarette filters. According to them, cigarette filters do great harm to the environment and do not protect smokers from tobacco smoke.
As Gizmodo reports, cigarette butts make up one-third of plastic waste and, in addition, smokers have no significant use for them.
“Despite the fact that filters are the most commonly collected waste in the world, the tobacco industry has largely been able to avoid the public scourge towards plastic waste that McDonald’s or Starbucks have felt, for example,” scientists said.
Scientists also say that banning cigarettes with filters could eventually reduce the number of smokers in the world, calling for a “radical approach.”
“If we fail to reduce the number of butts then our efforts to reduce the use of plastic will be futile,” the experts said.
The cigarette filter first appeared in the 1950’s and filters were made from cellulose acetate. The filters were initially considered a way to reduce the exposure of smokers to the many harmful chemicals contained in cigarettes, which scientists at the time began to suspect were causing cancer.
It soon became apparent, however, that the filters did not perform as intended. Although filters can block larger particles, such as tar, they do not prevent fine particles that penetrate deeper into the lungs.
Although cellulose acetate decomposes rapidly within a few months under the right conditions, it usually takes more than ten years for cigarette butts to disappear.
This also makes them one of the biggest environmental problems, especially at a time when the planet is struggling with plastic waste.
The Ocean Conservancy, which has been cleaning the coasts and beaches for more than 30 years, says it has been abandoning the most common waste found on beaches for years.
The group points out that they make up a third of the waste collected and are far more present than plastic bottles, plugs, skirts and straws.