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© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

While the impacts of cigarette smoking on human health are widely known, a less recognized impact of tobacco product use and disposal is environmental pollution. This review discusses the current literature related to cigarette and e-cigarette contamination in the context of environmental sources and impacts, with a focus on the documented influences on biota, ranging from bacteria to mammals. Cigarette butts and electronic cigarette components can leach contaminants into soil, water, and air. Cellulose acetate cigarette filters comprising the butts are minimally degradable and are a source of bulk plastic and microplastic pollution, especially in aquatic ecosystems where they tend to accumulate. Cigarette combustion and aerosol production during e-cigarette use result in air contamination from sidestream, exhaled, and thirdhand pathways. The chemical byproducts of tobacco product use contaminate wastewater effluents, landfill leachates, and urban storm drains. The widespread detection of nicotine and cotinine in the environment illustrates the potential for large-scale environmental impacts of tobacco product waste. Studies show that cigarette butt leachate and nicotine are toxic to microbes, plants, benthic organisms, bivalves, zooplankton, fish, and mammals; however, there remain critical knowledge gaps related to the environmental impacts of tobacco product waste on environmental health and ecosystem functioning.

Details

Title
A Review of Environmental Pollution from the Use and Disposal of Cigarettes and Electronic Cigarettes: Contaminants, Sources, and Impacts
Author
Beutel, Marc W 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Harmon, Thomas C 1 ; Novotny, Thomas E 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Mock, Jeremiah 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Gilmore, Michelle E 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Hart, Stephen C 4 ; Traina, Samuel 1 ; Duttagupta, Srimanti 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Brooks, Andrew 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Jerde, Christopher L 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Hoh, Eunha 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Laurie C Van De Werfhorst 7 ; Butsic, Van 8 ; Wartenberg, Ariani C 8 ; Holden, Patricia A 7   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Environmental Systems Graduate Group, University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA; [email protected] (T.C.H.); [email protected] (M.E.G.); [email protected] (S.T.) 
 School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA; [email protected] (T.E.N.); [email protected] (S.D.); [email protected] (E.H.) 
 Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA; [email protected] 
 Department of Life & Environmental Sciences and Sierra Nevada Research Institute, University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA; [email protected] 
 School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA; [email protected] (T.E.N.); [email protected] (S.D.); [email protected] (E.H.); San Diego State University Research Foundation, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA 
 Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; [email protected] (A.B.); [email protected] (C.L.J.) 
 Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; [email protected] (L.C.V.D.W.); [email protected] (P.A.H.) 
 Environmental Science, Policy and Management Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; [email protected] (V.B.); [email protected] (A.C.W.) 
First page
12994
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20711050
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2608152268
Copyright
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.