Category: Filters

California County Bans Filtered Cigarettes

Photo: lienkie
The Board of Supervisors of Santa Cruz County, California, on Oct. 29 decided to ban the sale of filtered cigarettes and cigars, making it the world’s first jurisdiction to do so, according to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
The sales ban will apply to all unincorporated areas of the county and requires that two of the four incorporated cities in the county pass similar ordinances before coming into effect.
Cigarette filters are the world’s leading source of trash and the leading source of plastic pollution. Globally, approximately 4.5 trillion used filters are discarded into the environment every year. Filters are nonbiodegradable and cannot be feasibly collected or recycled.
“There are no downstream solutions to the plague of cigarette filters,” said Laurent Huber, executive director of ASH. “The only practical choice is to eliminate them from the market.”
“In addition to adding microplastics to the environment, hazardous chemicals from tobacco smoke that are trapped in the filters leach into water and soil,” said Georg E. Matt, co-director of the Center for Tobacco and the Environment at San Diego State University. “Cigarette filters have no health benefits to smokers; they just make it easier to get people addicted and keep them addicted.”
Around the world, several jurisdictions are also considering filter bans. Environmental ministries in Belgium and the Netherlands have recommended banning filters, and over the past several years, bills have been introduced in several U.S. states. Current negotiations at the United Nations on a treaty to end plastic pollution include text banning filters worldwide.
The tobacco industry added filters to cigarettes in the 1950s in response to growing health concerns about smoking, but critics contend that they don’t reduce the health risks. More than 98 percent of cigarettes are filtered.
October 30, 2024
French City Offers Honey in Exchange for Butts

Image: Dionisvera
The French city of Darnetal is offering residents honey in exchange for cigarette litter, reports Euro Pulse.
For each 1.5 liter bottle filled with butts, volunteers receive a pot of honey from local apiaries.
According to city hall estimates, 200 kilograms of cigarette butts end up on the sidewalks of Darnetal every year despite the fact that France punishes litterbugs with a fine of €135 per improperly discarded butt.
The plastic contained in the filters presents risks for water and soil, poisoning people and animals. The initiative is designed to motivate people to think about their contribution to environmental pollution.
European cities have been getting creative in tackling the problem of cigarette litter. In January, Slovakia announced a project to turn discarded butts into asphalt. The first road made of cigarette butts was constructed in the city of Ziar nad Hronom.
October 13, 2024
California: Santa Cruz Bans Sale of Filtered Tobacco

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The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to ban the sale of filtered cigarettes in unincorporated areas of the county.
The ordinance was created by the Board’s Tobacco Waste Ad Hoc Subcommittee. It was supported by a coalition of environmental, health, educational and other groups and stakeholders.
“This is a momentous day that builds on the work our community has been doing for generations to protect our environment and establish Santa Cruz County as a global leader in the environmental movement,” Board of Supervisors Chair Justin Cummings said. “While the County is the first to take this step, by no means will we be the last. We look forward to working with local cities and other jurisdictions to protect our coast, our environment and our people.”
The sale of unfiltered cigarettes, cigars, loose-leaf and chewing tobacco, unflavored vape pens and other tobacco products will still be allowed, according to media reports.
The ordinance will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
“Cigarette butts are the most littered item on the planet, they provide absolutely no health benefit to smokers, and they are poisonous to the environment. Let’s ban this toxic trash,” Supervisor Manu Koenig said.
October 11, 2024
Azerbaijan Hikes Penalties for Cigarette Litter

Azerbaijan is keen to keep its public spaces spotless. (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
Azerbaijan has increased the penalties for littering tobacco waste sixfold, reports News.az.
The fine for dumping tobacco waste into the environment has risen from AZN50 ($29.41) to AZN300. Repeat offenders risk a AZN700 penalty or up to 100 hours of community service.
October 6, 2024
Filtrona Expands Boreas Range

Image: Filtrona
Filtrona has expanded its Boreas range of filters for heated-tobacco products (HTP) with six new products. The new innovations will make their debut at the InterSupply trade show in Dortmund, Germany, Sept. 19–21, 2024.
The new HTP filters include the Boreas Echo, which incorporates a heat protection design to deliver a pleasant user experience at an optimal temperature, and the Boreas Echo II, which enables a fuller experience in every puff with enhanced aerosol volume control.
The Boreas Echo III features a proprietary triple Corinthian structure, designed to deliver a stable and steady temperature profile that ensures consistent performance comparable to leading products in the market. The Boreas Echo IV is made with a low-density paper bridge segment that is designed to optimize the balance between temperature and aerosol delivery.
The new filters to be launched at InterSupply also include the Nimbus, which features a triple tube structure that delivers a balanced and consistent experience, and the Nimbus+, designed to enhance the generation of visible aerosol for a more intense user experience.
“We are delighted to launch six new filters for the fast-growing HTP market at InterSupply. The Boreas range was well received by the industry when it was introduced in May this year,” said Filtrona CEO Robert Pye in a statement.
“We have enhanced the Boreas range with new filter solutions that are innovatively designed to meet the unique requirements of almost any HTP application.”
September 19, 2024
Malta to Make Industry Pay for Litter Cleanup

Photo: lienkie
The government of Malta is working to make tobacco companies responsible for the cost of disposing cigarette butts, in line with the European Union’s Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive, reports Malta Today.
Cigarette butts account for 22 percent of waste collected from European beaches. A survey conducted by the environment ministry in 2021 found that 11 percent of smokers admit to throwing cigarette butts on the floor.
Nearly all filters in circulation today are made of plastic fibers that won’t break down organically. Studies show that it may take up to 10 years for a cigarette butt to decompose.
Malta’s draft legal notice introduces a framework compelling tobacco producers to cover the costs associated with clean-up efforts, waste receptacles and public awareness campaigns. The industry will also be required to fund the waste management of their products through a producer responsibility organization (PRO). Until a PRO is set up, Malta’s Environment and Resources Authority will allocate the costs according to tobacco companies’ market shares.
September 12, 2024
Republic Launches Plastic-Free Tips
Image: Republic Technologies
Republic Technologies has launched Just Paper plastic-free filter tips in the United Kingdom, reports Talking Retail.
According to Republic Technologies, Just Paper filters provide consumers with an experience that is similar to that of traditional cellulose acetate filters but with a lower environmental impact.
“The Just Paper range represents a breakthrough in the development of filter tips with a significantly reduced impact on the environment,” said Gavin Anderson, sales and marketing director at Republic Technologies (U.K.).
“We know that there’s more to do on this journey, but innovation of this kind is a major step for the brand and category. We’re confident that it will attract new shoppers to Swan, strengthening its position as the brand of choice for retailers and roll-your-own shoppers.”
September 12, 2024
Kicking Butt

Photo: Filtrona
With its plastic-free products goal at the forefront, Filtrona’s new filter technology allows for a sustainable RYO option.
By Marissa Dean
When thinking about filters, most people immediately picture pre-rolled cigarettes. They think of discarded butts and microplastics. But those images are changing as the industry evolves and consumers demand more sustainable options. Filtrona is working to fill those needs with its recently debuted trademarked Rip-a-Tip plastic-free filter for the roll-your-own (RYO) market.
“Made entirely from cellulose, the Rip-a-Tip is designed with convenience and configurability in mind,” says Filtrona CEO Robert Pye. Cellulose is a naturally occurring molecule made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and it is found in plant cell walls as part of the main structure. Being made completely of cellulose means that the filters will break down entirely upon disposal—removing the potential of microplastics leaching into the environment.
The product is also highly customizable. “It also gives RYO tobacco companies the freedom and options to customize the filter to a preferred diameter, pressure drop and choice of substrate—such as white or unbleached sustainable materials,” says Pye.
“In practical terms, each Rip-a-Tip stick is expertly crafted to hold six individual filter tips measuring 14 mm in tip length. Rip-a-Tip features the EasyRip System, which allows users to rip off the filter tips easily and quickly along the perforated line. This not only delivers an easy and enjoyable user experience but also importantly ensures there is no wastage after the filter tips are ripped off from the outer wrap,” Pye says.
According to Pye, the outer wrap of the product can also be customized with color or print, and the design of the packaging boxes for the filters, which come in flip top, cigarette, push and slide, and side push and slide formats, can be customized.

The Boreas CoolBridge combines Filtrona’s sustainable cooling segment, ECO Bridge, with monoacetate and the company’s patented Fine Wall Acetate Tube.
A Sustainable Future
Like most companies, Filtrona has environmental, social and governance goals that it aims to reach every year. By 2050, Filtrona’s goal is to offer a complete portfolio of plastic-free products.
The Rip-a-Tip supports that goal as “a biodegradable RYO filter solution that meets growing consumer regulatory demand for tobacco products grounded in sustainability,” according to Pye. It “marks an exciting material advancement in the RYO market,” which is expected to reach $45 billion in global value by 2033.
Along with the Rip-a-Tip filters, Filtrona has also launched its trademarked Boreas range of heated-tobacco product (HTP) filters, filling a market need as more consumers switch from traditional combustible cigarettes to HTPs and other reduced-risk products.
The new range includes Boreas SideFlow, a patent-pending filter with a simplified design, and Boreas CoolBridge, a filter that combines Filtrona’s sustainable cooling segment, ECO Bridge, with monoacetate and the company’s patented Fine Wall Acetate Tube to create a balanced retention and cooling mechanism.
“With this new Boreas range,” says Pye, “we are giving customers the option to create a customized, multi-segment filter by combining various types of base rods that are available in Filtrona’s comprehensive collection. As more of our customers move into the rapidly growing HTP market, we are thrilled to be able to support our customers with a dedicated range of HTP filters that bear the hallmark of our innovative and unique designs.
“As consumer demand for HTPs continues to grow, our new Boreas range will enable HTP manufacturers to deliver the next generation of products that deliver the expected level of quality and user experience compared to conventional cigarettes while also meeting regulatory requirements.”

What’s Next?
The industry is constantly changing and evolving as regulations, requirements, health concerns, environmental concerns and consumer desires morph. According to Pye, Filtrona is well positioned to cater to the rapidly changing business environment.
“We have a century of filtration experience and chemistry delivery expertise at Filtrona, coupled with an unparalleled drive for innovation and R&D and world-class global manufacturing capabilities,” Pye says. “In addition, our Scientific Services laboratories in Indonesia offer independent and accredited testing facilities for all our products.
“Our industry knowledge helps companies to catch emerging trends, adapt to changes and build strong brands. We see an exciting future ahead in the industry where Filtrona will play a significant role in driving change and enabling business growth through product innovations, advanced technology and sustainable solutions.”
Marissa Dean joined Tobacco Reporter in the summer of 2018 as a copy editor.Since that time, she has taken on additional responsibilities, including feature writing.Her skills span the publishing industry from layout and design to copy editing to content creation.

September 1, 2024
Greenbutts to Produce at 22nd Century

Photo: Greenbutts
22nd Century Group will provide Greenbutts with manufacturing space at its Mocksville, North Carolina, USA, NASCO manufacturing facility and with NASCO staff to operate the equipment for a new cigarette filter solution.
Greenbutts offers a patented technology to replace single-use, plastic-based filters currently used in tobacco products with water-soluble, fully biodegradable filter solutions.
“With an estimated 6 trillion manufactured every year, plastic-based cigarette butts are the most abundant form of plastic waste worldwide,” said 22nd Century Group chairman and CEO Larry Firestone in a statement.
“Adding to that, an estimated 65 percent are littered, making them the world’s single most littered item. Unfortunately, the cellulose acetate plastics used in conventional cigarette butts takes decades to biodegrade, resulting in toxic waste that is harmful to ecosystems and wildlife, especially aquatic ecosystems. Greenbutts provides a simple, nontoxic, 100 percent biodegradable, plant-based and water-dispersing solution that is free of plastic and harmful chemicals while providing the same smoking experience as current filters.
“Under this new multiyear agreement, 22nd Century Group will provide the manufacturing space and support needed to produce sample product to allow Greenbutts to pursue FDA approval, with the mutual goal thereafter of expanding to full commercial production.
“We see this as an exciting new innovation and disruptor that could be used in both our VLN reduced-nicotine content cigarettes, the first and only combustible cigarette to receive an FDA harm reduction authorization, and in our CMO business for other conventional cigarette brands as well, where advanced discussions about potential use in cigarette products are already underway.”
July 10, 2024
Filtrona Launches Plastic-Free RYO Filter

Photo: Filtrona
Filtrona has launched a plastic-free filter for the roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco market.
According to Filtrona, the Rip-a-Tip filter marks an exciting material advancement in the RYO market, a category expected to reach a global value of $45 billion by 2033.
“The launch of Rip-a-Tip supports our ESG goal to offer a complete portfolio of plastic-free products by 2050. It is a biodegradable RYO filter solution that meets growing consumer and regulatory demand for tobacco products grounded in sustainability,” said Filtrona CEO Robert Pye in a statement.
“As the tobacco industry moves toward plastic reduction or elimination, accelerated by complex regulations on sustainability, the Rip-a-Tip ticks all the boxes while enhancing the consumer experience with our century-long filtration expertise,” said Pye.
The Rip-a-Tip is designed with convenience and configurability in mind, with the option for RYO tobacco companies to customize the filter to the preferred diameter, pressure drop and choice of substrate, such as white or unbleached sustainable materials.
Each Rip-a-Tip stick holds six individual filter tips measuring 14 mm in tip length. To provide more “real estate” for branding and product differentiation, the outer wrap of Rip-a-Tip can be customized to a preferred color or print.
Filtrona also supplies the packaging box for the Rip-a-Tip filters in popular pack formats, including the flip top, cigarette, push and slide, and side push and slide. The design of the packaging box can also be customized.
July 10, 2024