05-07-2026IMPACT COUNCIL

The hidden cost of nicotine products

Cigarette butts and disposable vapes are creating an environmental crisis.

[Photo: Getty Images]

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BY Kathy Crosby and Kizzy Charles-Guzman

Walk down almost any city street, beach, or park, and you’ll see them: cigarette butts scattered along the curb, tucked into sidewalk cracks, or washed up along shorelines—4.5 trillion of them. They’re now so common they’ve become nearly invisible. But that ubiquity masks a growing environmental crisis—one that has only intensified as nicotine products evolve.

For decades, cigarette butts have been the most littered item in the world. The filter—often mistaken as biodegradable—is made of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that can persist in the environment for years. These filters don’t just sit there; they break down into microplastics, leaching toxic chemicals like arsenic and lead into soil........

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