In October 2024, the Board of Supervisors of Santa Cruz County, California, unanimously approved a first-of-its-kind ordinance banning the sale of “filtered” cigarettes  or partially inconsumable cigarettes (the term used in the ordinance). The term partially inconsumable cigarettes term was chosen carefully to avoid perpetuating the industry fallacy that these cigarettes offer any kind of harm reduction through “filters.” The trailblazing measure would go into full force no earlier than 2027 and it is contingent on at least two municipalities also adopting it in tandem. Advocates remain optimistic that this bold and necessary move will take place. Its adoption in the county itself is a landmark moment and a promising sign that communities are clamoring for progress in the areas of public health and environmental justice.

For decades, the tobacco industry deceived the public into believing that partially inconsumable cigarettes are safer than other combustible tobacco products. As earlier consumers became aware of the risk of lung cancer and COPD caused by smoking, the industry pretended to “reduce harm” by attaching a small tube of thousands of tiny plastic microfibers to each cigarette. This, the industry claimed, would “filter out” many carcinogenic elements of tobacco smoke, thus making the cigarette “cleaner” or “safer.” As it turns out, these claims were unfounded and untrue. However, tobacco industry propaganda was so pervasive that, even today, many cigarette users continue to believe that microplastic components in their cigarettes decrease the negative health effects of tobacco smoke.

In reality, these plastic tubes do not filter out the toxic chemicals from cigarette smoke; they only offer that impression due to the brown stain that appears in the filter’s center as a person smokes. Instead, their design tends to encourage the user to inhale more deeply by masking the harshness of cigarette smoke, and ultimately leads to a deeper and more prolonged addiction. This makes partially inconsumable cigarettes potentially more dangerous than those without the plastic components.

Another false belief encouraged by Big Tobacco is that these “filters” are biodegradable and do not harm the environment. This misinformation leads many to believe that flicking cigarette butts on the ground is a harmless practice. But the truth is that these deceptive cigarette components are not biodegradable. While they appear to be made of cotton, they actually consist of thousands of thin threads of cellulose acetate—a type of plastic that does not decompose. After the consumable portion of the cigarette is smoked, these plastic tubes are permeated with nicotine and other highly toxic elements present in cigarettes, such as cadmium, lead, and arsenic.  As the paper wrap disintegrates, the tiny microplastic threads that make up the tube loosen and disperse into our rivers, lakes, and oceans. The microplastics also collect in the soil and in any animal or plant that consumes them.  They’re a major contributor to the planet’s microplastic crisis. In fact, cigarette butts are the most littered item on the planet. The World Health Organization estimates that 4.5 trillion butts are improperly discarded around the world each year. This is the equivalent of 1.69 billion pounds of widely dispersed and impossible to contain garbage that constantly leaches toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the environment.

The beaches and riverways in Santa Cruz County are not spared from this toxic threat. Between 2013 and 2024, Save Our Shores alone picked up a total of 463,783 cigarette butts within the county. While that is a huge number, the amount of cigarette butts that were not detected and cleaned up is sure to be exponentially higher. Moreover, the cost to clean up these toxic butts is exorbitant, as is the unmitigated cost of not cleaning them up these butts—with modest estimates of the economic burden to the world at around $25.7 billion annually. While this global crisis is created by Big Tobacco’s quest for profits, it is local governments that are left with the burden of dealing with the problem.

Given that these costly and toxic microplastic pests serve no purpose other than to perpetuate tobacco industry profits, it makes sense that local governments would seek the most efficient upstream solutions. And Santa Cruz County is leading the way in cutting off the problem at the source. By preventing partially inconsumable cigarettes from coming into its local market in the first place, the county seeks to substantially reduce the persistent proliferation of this toxic microplastic waste and its harmful environmental and economic impact and to set an example for communities around the world.

Carolina Saavedra, Senior Staff Attorney
April 14, 2025