European Cities Call on the EU to Ban Filtered Cigarettes, Calling Filters One of History's Biggest Scams
Brussels, Munich, Dublin, Genoa and other European cities have joined the No (Plastic) Filter campaign, calling on the European Union to ban the sale of filtered cigarettes outright on the grounds that plastic filters offer no health benefit and are one of the biggest sources of urban litter. Politico reported the campaign on November 12.
The participating cities also include Hradec Králové in Czechia and The Hague in the Netherlands. The campaign is driven by the Dutch government, with The Hague coordinating the drafting of an official position to be submitted to the EU institutions; participants include local municipalities, water authorities and environmental groups.
Campaign leader Karl Berenfenger called filters a misleading product and one of the biggest scams in modern history, saying the cigarette filter should never have appeared. Brussels estimates that cigarette butts account for about 30 percent of the waste it collects, while The Hague spends roughly 2 million euros a year cleaning them up.
The cities argue that the EU's current extended producer responsibility schemes, under which tobacco companies pay for butt cleanup, have failed to curb pollution. A study commissioned by the Dutch government from CE Delft likewise found existing measures unlikely to achieve the targeted 70 percent reduction in environmental leakage. The World Health Organization also supports banning or phasing out filters, emphasising that they provide no health benefit.
A ban could be considered during the EU's review of the Tobacco Products Directive, with the Single-Use Plastics Directive offering another possible route. Tobacco manufacturers oppose an outright ban, arguing that filters reduce exposure to certain smoke constituents; the industry group Tobacco Europe favours stronger litter enforcement and alternative filter materials.
(Source: Politico)
Source: Politico
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：柏林中央车站外电车站地面散落的烟蒂（资料图）。照片：Roy Zuo 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Cigarette litter at a tram stop outside Berlin central station (file photo). Photo by Roy Zuo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Follow-Up: Ghalibaf Says Iran Will Not Tolerate 'Neither War Nor Peace': Accept the Seven Conditions and Talks Open, Err Again and Iran Sets the Battlefield2026-11-15
KCNA Commentary Condemns Japan's Nuclear Ambition, Calling a Planned Exception to the Non-Nuclear Principles a Prelude to Going Nuclear2026-11-15