Call for ban on useless cigarette filters

Health and environmental organisations together wrote an anxious letter to the Infrastructure & Water Management Committee, in the run-up to the Circular Economy Committee debate. Outgoing State Secretary Heijnen writes that she is in favour of a ban on single-use cigarette filters. She also wants to get to work on making beaches and other environments smoke-free, as well as a site-specific approach to reduce cigarette butts on festival sites, among others. In our view, the State Secretary is rightly ignoring other measures, such as a deposit system and information campaigns. As environmental and health organisations, we are major advocates of a ban on cigarette filters and making environments smoke-free. Ban on cigarette filters is essential for protecting the environment Cigarette filters are numerically the largest form of plastic pollution worldwide and a source of microplastics. In addition to plastic, the filters contain a cocktail of toxic substances: arsenic (rat poison), lead, nicotine and pesticides. These substances end up in the environment, with negative effects on people, animals, plants and ecosystems. A ban on cigarette filters is the only effective measure to solve this major environmental problem, according to the report by CE Delft and international publications. Ban on cigarette filters improves public health Every year, around 20,000 Dutch people die from the consequences of smoking. The cigarette filter is a misleading invention of the tobacco industry to make smoking seem less harmful. Since the introduction of the filter, however, a certain type of lung cancer, adenocarcinoma, has become much more common. At the same time, there is no indication that filtered cigarettes are less unhealthy than unfiltered cigarettes. Like the Belgian Superior Health Council, we expect a ban on cigarette filters to help reduce the number of tobacco deaths. This is because a filter ban makes starting to smoke less attractive. In addition, it may encourage smokers to quit smoking, because unfiltered cigarettes result in tobacco in the mouth and the smoke is harsher and more unpleasant. This also puts an end to the tobacco industry's options to manipulate the measured emission values of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide via holes in the filter ('cheat cigarette'). Expanding smoke-free environments: good additional measure We see expanding the number of smoke-free beaches and other environments as a good additional measure from both an environmental and health perspective. It is a real win-win measure. The more smoke-free environments, the fewer butts end up in the environment. The measure also ensures that children come into contact with smoking less and helps to quit smoking or stay quit. If fewer people smoke, that in turn leads to fewer harmful residues in litter. We would like to see the State Secretary specify further which environments besides beaches she is including in her discussions with the IPO and VNG on this topic. As far as we are concerned, the environments for which the State Secretary has a site-specific approach in mind to reduce butt litter, such as festivals, are also environments that can be made entirely smoke-free. Call: work as quickly as possible on a ban on cigarette filters & more smoke-free environments Introducing a ban on cigarette filters at European level is considered to have the highest chance of success. The review of the Single Use Plastics Directive in 2026 offers the first logical opportunity to do so. But that is still too long away. The requested 70% reduction from Bouchallikh's motion will then not be achieved. Fortunately, the possibilities for a national ban on cigarette filters are also being explored. We are running this campaign with the support of: Carla van Gils, chair of Health Funds for a Smoke-Free Future and director of KWF Dutch Cancer Society Jeroen Pepers, director of De Nederlandse GGZ Marloes Heebing, director of GoClean René Héman, chair of KNMG Maria Westerbos, founder and director of Plastic Soup Foundation Willemijn Peeters, founder and director of Searious Business Ewout van Galen, head of Programmes at Stichting De Noordzee Wanda de Kanter, chair of Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation Dirk Groot, founder of Zwerfinator Foundation

Health and environmental organisations together wrote an anxious letter to the Infrastructure & Water Management Committee, in the run-up to the Circular Economy Committee debate.

Outgoing State Secretary Heijnen writes that she is in favour of a ban on single-use cigarette filters. She also wants to get to work on making beaches and other environments smoke-free, as well as a site-specific approach to reduce cigarette butts on festival sites, among others. In our view, the State Secretary is rightly ignoring other measures, such as a deposit system and information campaigns. As environmental and health organisations, we are major advocates of a ban on cigarette filters and making environments smoke-free.

Ban on cigarette filters is essential for protecting the environment

Cigarette filters are numerically the largest form of plastic pollution worldwide and a source of microplastics. In addition to plastic, the filters contain a cocktail of toxic substances: arsenic (rat poison), lead, nicotine and pesticides. These substances end up in the environment, with negative effects on people, animals, plants and ecosystems. A ban on cigarette filters is the only effective measure to solve this major environmental problem, according to the report by CE Delft and international publications.

Ban on cigarette filters improves public health

Every year, around 20,000 Dutch people die from the consequences of smoking. The cigarette filter is a misleading invention of the tobacco industry to make smoking seem less harmful. Since the introduction of the filter, however, a certain type of lung cancer, adenocarcinoma, has become much more common. At the same time, there is no indication that filtered cigarettes are less unhealthy than unfiltered cigarettes.

Just like the Belgian Superior Health Council, we expect a ban on cigarette filters to help reduce the number of tobacco deaths. This is because a filter ban makes starting to smoke less attractive. In addition, it may encourage smokers to quit smoking, because unfiltered cigarettes result in tobacco in the mouth and the smoke is harsher and more unpleasant. This also puts an end to the tobacco industry's options to manipulate the measured emission values of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide via holes in the filter ('cheat cigarette').

Expanding smoke-free environments: good additional measure

We see expanding the number of smoke-free beaches and other environments as a good additional measure from both an environmental and health perspective. It is a real win-win measure. The more smoke-free environments, the fewer butts end up in the environment. The measure also ensures that children come into contact with smoking less and helps to quit smoking or stay quit. If fewer people smoke, that in turn leads to fewer harmful residues in litter.

We would like to see the State Secretary specify further which environments besides beaches she is including in her discussions with the IPO and VNG on this topic. As far as we are concerned, the environments for which the State Secretary has a site-specific approach in mind to reduce butt litter, such as festivals, are also environments that can be made entirely smoke-free.

Call: work as quickly as possible on a ban on cigarette filters & more smoke-free environments

Introducing a ban on cigarette filters at European level is considered to have the highest chance of success. The review of the Single Use Plastics Directive in 2026 offers the first logical opportunity to do so. But that is still too long away. The requested 70% reduction from Bouchallikh's motion will then not be achieved. Fortunately, the possibilities for a national ban on cigarette filters are also being explored.

We are running this campaign with the support of:

Carla van Gils, chair of Health Funds for a Smoke-Free Future and director of KWF Dutch Cancer Society

Jeroen Pepers, director of De Nederlandse GGZ

Marloes Heebing, director of GoClean

René Héman, chair of KNMG

Maria Westerbos, founder and director of Plastic Soup Foundation

Willemijn Peeters, founder and director of Searious Business

Ewout van Galen, head of Programmes at Stichting De Noordzee

Wanda de Kanter, chair of Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation

Dirk Groot, founder of Zwerfinator Foundation