“The tobacco industry is stepping up its attempts to appear responsible and environmentally friendly”

HASWhile the devastating consequences of smoking on public health are widely documented, causing more than 700,000 deaths per year in Europe, its environmental impact remains largely unknown.

Throughout their life cycle, tobacco products are nevertheless responsible for serious pollution and environmental degradation, including through deforestation, water, air and soil pollution. by chemicals and microplastic particles.

Each year, more than 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are thrown into the environment. The majority of them include a cellulose acetate filter, a plastic additive that is difficult to biodegrade and that can pollute up to 500 liters of water and which represents the second most plastic waste found on the beaches of the European Union.

Each year, more than 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are thrown into the environment.

Despite these factual elements, the tobacco industry multiplies its attempts to appear responsible and respectful of the environment. Whether through communication posted on the official websites of its main companies, such as the promotion of beach cleanups organized by volunteers, the tobacco industry misappropriates and manipulates the facts. It seeks to escape its environmental responsibility while regaining legitimacy with the public authorities.

This false image of respectability jeopardizes several decades of efforts by civil society and governments to prevent and denounce the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and production. These efforts notably led in 2005 to the ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) by 182 entities, including the European Union, thus covering more than 90% of the world’s population, and aimed at protecting current and future generations from the tobacco industry.

A striking example of greenwashing is the role attributed to the tobacco industry in the management of cigarette butt waste. In application of the polluter-pays principle, the European Union adopted in 2019 a directive on single-use plastic products, including cigarette filters.

Among several obligations, this text obliges tobacco producers to cover the costs related to the cleaning, transport and treatment of cigarette butts. Member States must also develop awareness-raising measures on this subject.

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