Among the many harms of tobacco products are those that were the focus of the 2022 WHO World No Tobacco Day: the widespread environmental impacts of tobacco.1 2 These environmental impacts are also recognised in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which obligates Parties to address environmental concerns in Article 17 (Provide support for economically viable alternative activities) and Article 18 (Protect the environment and health of persons).3
Cigarette butts are some of the most littered items on earth,4 totalling 4.5 trillion littered cigarettes per year globally.5 A large-scale observational study of littering behaviour in the USA estimated a littering rate of 65% for cigarette butts.6 In addition to the contents of unsmoked tobacco, such as nicotine, and chemicals from additives, cigarette butts include filters, composed of paper and cellulose acetate, which is a nearly non-biodegradable plastic that…