ArticleTobacco control2011
Whose butt is it? tobacco industry research about smokers and cigarette butt waste.
Article in Tobacco control, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review on cigarette butt management as a hazardous waste and prevalent litter: control and recycling.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2019Pooled it
- Surface-functionalized cigarette butts as efficient adsorbents for Cr(VI) removal and mechanistic insights.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Disposal practices of cigarettes and electronic nicotine products among adults, findings from Wave 6 (2021) of the PATH Study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Article
- The fate of leaked heavy metals in the urban environment under different persistence and precipitation scenarios.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Quality variations of leachate resulting from cigarette filter recycling as a challenge for its management.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- A downstream social norms approach for curtailing e-cigarette waste: Promising social marketing interventions from consumer interactions.Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA · 2023Article
- Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors about Cigarette-Butt Littering among College-Aged Adults in the United States.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Levels of Chemical Toxicants in Waterpipe Tobacco and Waterpipe Charcoal Solid Waste.Journal of environmental protection · 2021Article
- Perceptions About the Impact of Cigarette Filters on the Environment and Smoking-Related Behaviors.The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine · 2021Article
- Impact of cigarette butts on bacterial community structure in soil.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Article
- Online Simulation Model to Estimate the Total Costs of Tobacco Product Waste in Large U.S. Cities.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Waterpipe device cleaning practices and disposal of waste associated with waterpipe tobacco smoking in homes in the USA.Tobacco control · 2020Article
- From Plant to Waste: The Long and Diverse Impact Chain Caused by Tobacco Smoking.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Global Health Perspectives on Cigarette Butts and the Environment.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Environmental impacts of tobacco product waste: International and Australian policy responses.Ambio · 2017Review
- Tobacco industry responsibility for butts: a Model Tobacco Waste Act.Tobacco control · 2017Article
- The environmental and health impacts of tobacco agriculture, cigarette manufacture and consumption.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2015Article
- Extended Producer Responsibility and Product Stewardship for Tobacco Product Waste.International journal of waste resources · 2014Article
- Cigarette litter: smokers' attitudes and behaviors.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2012Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCigarette filters are made of non-biodegradable cellulose acetate. As much as 766,571 metric tons of butts wind up as litter worldwide per year. Numerous proposals have been made to prevent or mitigate cigarette butt pollution, but none has been effective; cigarette butts are consistently found to be the single most collected item in beach clean-ups and litter surveys.
methodsWe searched the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) and http://tobaccodocuments.org using a snowball strategy beginning with keywords (eg, 'filter', 'biodegradable', 'butts'). Data from approximately 680 documents, dated 1959-2006, were analysed using an interpretive approach.
resultsThe tobacco industry has feared being held responsible for cigarette litter for more than 20 years. Their efforts to avoid this responsibility included developing biodegradable filters, creating anti-litter campaigns, and distributing portable and permanent ashtrays. They concluded that biodegradable filters would probably encourage littering and would not be marketable, and that smokers were defensive about discarding their tobacco butts and not amenable to anti-litter efforts.
conclusionsTobacco control and environmental advocates should develop partnerships to compel the industry to take financial and practical responsibility for cigarette butt waste.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.