Top Takeaways:

• Researchers say filters are ineffective and may increase smoking-related harm.
• Cigarette filters contribute significantly to global plastic pollution.
• Experts want the ban included in the upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

Public health researchers in the UK are calling on the government to ban cigarette filters, arguing they are a false safety feature that increases health risks and fuels plastic pollution.

In an editorial published in Addiction, Dr. Katherine East of Brighton and Sussex Medical School said filters “were designed to give the false impression of safety.” She added that they “do not reduce toxicant exposure and may even increase harm, because they lead people to inhale deeper and for longer and can embed harmful fibres and microplastics in the lungs.”

The authors urged lawmakers to use the forthcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill—which will phase out cigarette sales for future generations—to also outlaw filters. “This measure would protect both public health and the environment,” East said.

Despite decades of declining smoking rates, around 6 million adults in the UK still smoke, consuming an average of 11 cigarettes per day. Most smokers continue to use filtered cigarettes under the mistaken belief that filters reduce harm. Surveys cited by the researchers show over 75% of adults—and more than 80% of smokers—believe filters make smoking safer, a misconception public health advocates say is rooted in decades of misleading tobacco marketing.

Filters, which are made of cellulose acetate, a single-use plastic, are among the world’s most littered items, accounting for billions of cigarette butts discarded annually. Researchers say they shed microplastics and chemical residue, contaminating waterways and soil.

Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said filters are “a marketing con to keep people smoking, protecting tobacco industry profits.” Cheeseman added: “The government has an opportunity to stop enabling this deception and ban filters outright.”

The editorial’s authors urged that any ban should be paired with public education campaigns to dispel myths about filter safety and highlight the tobacco industry’s long-standing use of filters to mislead consumers.

If adopted, the measure would make the UK the first country to outlaw cigarette filters—a move advocates say would mark a major shift in global tobacco control.