Tobacco Product Waste: An Environmental Approach to Reduce Tobacco Consumption

Thomas E Novotny, Elli Slaughter, Thomas E Novotny, Elli Slaughter

Abstract

Cigarette butts and other tobacco product wastes (TPW) are the most common items picked up in urban and beach cleanups worldwide. TPW contains all the toxins, nicotine, and carcinogens found in tobacco products, along with the plastic nonbiodegradable filter attached to almost all cigarettes sold in the United States and in most countries worldwide. Toxicity studies suggest that compounds leached from cigarette butts in salt and fresh water are toxic to aquatic micro-organisms and test fish. Toxic chemicals have also been identified in roadside TPW. With as much as two-thirds of all smoked cigarettes (numbering in the trillions globally) being discarded into the environment each year, it is critical to consider the potential toxicity and remediation of these waste products. This article reviews reports on the toxicity of TPW and recommends several policy approaches to mitigation of this ubiquitous environmental blight.

Keywords: Cigarette filters; Extended producer responsibility; Tobacco consumption; Tobacco product waste.

Conflict of interest statement

Thomas E. Novotny has received speaker fees (for travel primarily) from the San Jose Department of Environment. He has received support for travel to meetings for the study or otherwise from the American Legacy Foundation, and from TEDx SantAntoni for the TED talk in Ibiza, Spain. He has been a consultant for the World Health Organization (TOBREG background paper [unpublished]). He received payment for development of educational presentations including service on speakers’ bureaus from the California Tobacco Control Program, California Department of Public Health for a toolkit development on butt waste. He received travel/accommodations expenses covered or reimbursed from the California Department of Public Health for the Butt Waste Summit Sacramento and meeting travel, and from the American Legacy Foundation for travel for webinar and site visit. He is the Founder and CEO of the Cigarette Butt Pollution Project, a 501c3 charity registered in California. Elli Slaughter declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Possible pathways for human health risks due to TPW

References

    1. Litter Free Planet. Exposing the butts. 2009. . Accessed May 2011.
    1. Schneider JE, Decker CS, Doyle A, et al. Estimates of the costs of tobacco litter in San Francisco and Calculations of maximum permissible per-pack fees. Morristown: Health Economics Consulting Group; 2009.
    1. Andrews K. Get your butts off the street says Ó Neachtain. Galway Advertiser. April 15, 2004. . Accessed May 2011.
    1. KHBS. March 15, 2004. Fayetteville battles cigarette litter. .
    1. Niolet B. 2010. Smoking ban sends butts to the sidewalk. . Accessed May 2011.
    1. Keep Britain Tidy. Rise in cigarette litter. September 14, 2007. . Accessed May 2011.
    1. Smith EA, McDaniel PA. Covering their butts: responses to the cigarette litter problem. Tob Control. 2011;20:100–6.
    1. City of Tacoma. Can it: keep your butts out of the bay. 2010. . Accessed 15 Jan 2014.
    1. Rath JM, Rubenstein RA, Curry LE, Shank SE, Cartwright JC. Cigarette litter: smokers’ attitudes and behaviors. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2012;9:2189–203.
    1. Patel V, Thomson GW, Wilson N. Cigarette butt littering in city streets: a new methodology for studying and results. Tob Control. 2013;22:59–62.
    1. Register K. Cigarette butts as litter-toxic as well as ugly? Bull Am Littoral Soc. 2000;25:23–9.
    1. Tynan MA, McAfee T, Promoff G, Pechacek T. Consumption of cigarettes and combustible tobacco—United States, 2000–2011. MMWR. 2012;61:565–9.
    1. Novotny TE, Lum K, Smith E, Wang V, Barnes R. Cigarettes butts and the case for an environmental policy on hazardous cigarette waste. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2009;6:1691–705.
    1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of smoking—50 years of progress: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014. This document updates the chemistry of tobacco products and clearly makes the case that there is no benefit from product designs, such as the cellulose acetate filter found on nearly all filtered cigarettes sold, in terms of reducing the risks of smoking.
    1. Glantz SA, Slade J, Bero LA, et al. The cigarette papers. Berkley: University of California Press; 1996. p. 202e35.
    1. US Environmental Protection Agency. Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Program. . Accessed 30 Jan 2014.
    1. Slaughter E, Gersberg R, Watanabe K, Rudolf J, Novotny TE. Toxicity of cigarette butts, and their chemical components, to marine and freshwater fish, Atherinops affinis and Pimephales promelas. Tob Control. 2011;20:i25–9.
    1. Moerman JW, Potts GE. Analysis of metals leached from smoked cigarette litter. Tob Control. 2011;20(Suppl 1):i28–32.
    1. Dane AJ, Crystal DH, Kent JV. The detection of nitro pesticides in mainstream and sidestream cigarette smoke using electron monochromator-mass spectrometry. Anal Chem. 2006;78:3227–33.
    1. Clark TJ, Bunch JE. Quantitative determination of phenols in mainstream smoke with solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatographic-selected ion monitoring mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr Sci. 1996;34:272–5.
    1. Hazardous Substances Data Bank. 2009. Toxnet, National Library of Medicine. 4-ethylphenol. .
    1. Thompson DC, Perera K, London R. Quinone methide formation from Pura isomers of methylphenol (cresol), ethylphenol, and isopropylphenol: relationship to toxicity. Chem Res Toxicol. 1995;8:55–60.
    1. Baggett MS, Morie GP. Quantitative determination of phenol and alkylphenols in cigarette smoke and their removal by various filters. Tob Sci. 1973;17:30–2.
    1. George TW, Keith CH. The selective filtration of tobacco smoke. In: Wynder EL, Hoffmann D, editors. Tobacco and tobacco smoke. New York: Academic Press; 1967. pp. 577–622.
    1. Hoffmann D, Wynder EL. Filtration of phenols from cigarette smoke. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1963;30:67–84.
    1. Spears AW. Selective filtration of volatile phenolic compounds from cigarette smoke. Tob Sci. 1963;7:76–80.
    1. Hoffmann D, Hoffmann I. Cigars: health effects and trends. In: Smoking and tobacco control monograph no. 9. National Cancer Institute. NIH Pub. No. 98–4302, 1998. p. 55–104.
    1. Rodgman A, Perfetti TA. The chemical components of tobacco and tobacco smoke. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2008.
    1. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Reregistration Eligibility Decision for Nicotine. List B, Case No. 2460; 2008.
    1. Novotny TE, Hardin SN, Hovda LR, Novotny DJ, McLean MK, Khan S. Tobacco and cigarette butt consumption in humans and animals. Tob Control. 2011;20:i17–20.
    1. Karaconji B. Facts about nicotine toxicity. Arh Hig Rada Toksikol. 2005;56:363–71.
    1. Benowitz NL, Jacob P., III Daily intake of nicotine during cigarette smoking. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1984;35:499–504.
    1. Benowitz NL, Jacob P, III, Denaro C, Jenkins R. Stable isotope studies of nicotine kinetics and bioavailability. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1991;49:270–7.
    1. Connolly GN, Alpert HR, Wayne GF, Koh H. Trends in nicotine yield in smoke and its relationship with design characteristics among popular U.S. cigarette brands, 1997–2005. Tob Control. 2007;16:e5.
    1. Harris JE. Cigarette smoke components and disease: cigarette smoke is more than a triad of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide. Smoking and tobacco control monograph no. 7. NIH Pub. No. 96–4028; 1996. p. 59–75.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Low yield cigarettes and cigarette-like products 2010. .
    1. Micevska T, Warne M, St J, Pablo F, Patra R. Variation in, and causes of, toxicity of cigarette butts to a cladoceran and microtox. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2006;50:205–12.
    1. Warne MSJ, Patra RW, Cole B, Lunau B. Toxicity and a hazard assessment of cigarette butts to aquatic organisms. Interact 2002 - Programme and Abstract Book. Sydney, Australia; 2002:1.
    1. Moriwaki H, Kitajima S, Katahira K. Waste on the roadside, ‘poi-sute’ waste: its distribution and elution potential of pollutants into environment. Waste Manag. 2009;29:1192–7.
    1. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Methods for Measuring the Acute Toxicity of Effluents and Receiving Waters to Freshwater and Marine Organisms. EPA/600/4- 90/027F, 4th ed. Duluth, MN; 1993c. Accessed 30 Jan 2014.
    1. New South Wales Environmental Protection Agency. Laboratory Procedures Manual. Ecotoxicology section, 11. Sydney, Australia; 2001. Accessed 31 Jan 2014.
    1. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Methods for aquatic toxicity identification and evaluations: phase 1 toxicity characterization procedures. Duluth, MN: 1991. Accessed 31 Jan 2014.
    1. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Methods for aquatic toxicity identification evaluations: phase 3 toxicity confirmation procedures for samples exhibiting acute and chronic toxicity. Duluth, MN, 1993b. Accessed May 2011.
    1. Norman A. Cigarette manufacture: cigarette design and materials. In: Davis DL, Nielsen MT, editors. Tobacco: production, chemistry and technology. Oxford: Blackwell Science; 1999. pp. 353–87.
    1. Hon NS. Photodegradation of cellulose acetate fibers. J Polym Sci A Polym Chem. 1977;15:725–44.
    1. Clean Virginia Waterways. Are Cigarette butts biodegradable? . Accessed May 2011.
    1. Hatsukami D, Henningfield J, Kotlyar M. Harm reduction approaches to reducing tobacco-related mortality. Annu Rev Public Health. 2004;25:1–19.
    1. Kozlowski L, O’Conner R. Cigarette filter ventilation is a defective design because of misleading taste, bigger puffs, and blocked vents. Tob Control. 2002;11:i40e50.
    1. Kozlowski LT, O’Connor RJ, Cummings KM. Maximum yields might improve public health—if filter vents were banned: a lesson from the history of vented filters. Tob Control. 2006;15:262–4.
    1. US National Cancer Institute. Tobacco Control Monograph No. 13. Bethesda, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, 2001:13. Accessed 31 Jan 2014.
    1. United States Food and Drug Administration. Overview of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. . Accessed 31 Jan 2014.
    1. Guardino S, Banthin C, Daynard R. USA v Philip Morris USA, Inc, et al. Analysis of Judge Kessler’s Final Opinion and Order. Tobacco control Resource Center, Last Updated: April 2, 2007. Accessed 31 Jan 2014.
    1. Brooks DR, Austin JHM, Heelan RT, Ginsberg MS, Shin V, Olson SH, et al. Influence of type of cigarette on periphereal versus central lung cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev. 2005;14:576–81.
    1. Thun MJ, Carter BD, Feskanich D, Freedman ND, Prentice R, Lopez AD, et al. 50-year trends in smoking-related mortality in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2013;368:351–64.
    1. Barnes RL. Regulating the disposal of cigarette butts as toxic hazardous waste. Tob Control. 2011;20(Suppl 1):i42–5.
    1. Sachs N. Planning the funeral at the birth: extended producer responsibility in the European Union and the United States. Harv Environ Law Rev. 2006;30:51e98.
    1. Product Stewardship Institute. Extended Product Responsibility State Laws as of October 2010. . Accessed Oct 28, 2010.
    1. Hammond D, Fong GT, Borland R, McNeill A, Cummings KM, Hastings G. Effectiveness of cigarette warning labels in informing smokers about the risks of smoking: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey. Tob Control. 2006;15(Suppl III):iii19–25. doi:10.1136/tc.2005.012294.
    1. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The Oregon Bottle Bill Fact Sheet. . Accessed 28 Oct 2010.
    1. WIPO IP Service. Process and Method for Recycling Cigarette Butts. Pub. No.: WO/2007/035749 International Application No.: PCT/US2006/036511, Publication Date: Mar 29, 2007 International Filing Date: Sep 19, 2006.
    1. Szaky T. Cutting a Deal With Big Tobacco. New York Times, April 30, 2012. . Accessed 31 Jan 2014.
    1. Schneider JE, Peterson A, Kiss N, Ebeid O, Doyle A. Tobacco litter costs and public policy: a framework and methodology for considering the use of fees to offset abatement costs. Tob Control. 2011;20(Suppl 1):i33–8.
    1. INFORM. A Review of California and Maine’s electronics recycling programs. Updated February 2007. . Accessed 31 Jan 2014.
    1. California Legislature, 2013–2014 Regular Session. Assembly Bill No. 1504, Introduced by Assembly Member Stone. January 14, 2014. . Accessed 31 Jan 2014.
    1. American Lung Association. FDA Authority Over Tobacco Products. . Accessed 31 Jan 2014.

Source: PubMed

Sponsorer og samarbeidspartnere

Medisinsk tilstand

Legemiddelintervensjoner

3
Abonnere