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 Thomas E Novotny and Feng Zhao externality of tobacco useConsumption and production waste: another

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SPECIAL COMMUNICATION

Consumption and production waste: anotherexternality of tobacco use

Thomas E Novotny, Feng Zhao

AbstractObjective—To describe the waste pro-duced by and environmental implicationsof individual cigarette consumption (filtertips, packages, and cartons) and tobaccomanufacturing.Study selection—All available articles andreports published since 1970 related tocigarette consumption and productionwaste were reviewed.Data sources—Global cigarette consump-tion data were used to estimate cigarettebutt and packaging waste quantities. Datafrom the Center for Marine Conserva-tion’s International Coastal CleanupProject were used to describe someenvironmental impacts of tobacco-relatedtrash. Data from the United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency’s(EPA’s) Toxics Release Inventory andreported global cigarette consumptiontotals were used to estimate waste produc-tion from cigarette manufacturing.Data extraction and synthesis—In 1995,an estimated 5.535 trillion cigarettes(27 675 million cartons and 276 753million packages) were sold by the tobaccoindustry globally. Some of the wastes fromthese products were properly deposited,but a large amount of tobacco consump-tion waste ends up in the environment.Some is recovered during environmentalclean-up days. For the past eight years(1990–1997), cigarette butts have been theleading item found during the Interna-tional Coastal Cleanup Project; theyaccounted for 19.1% of all items collectedin 1997. The tobacco manufacturing proc-ess produces liquid, solid, and airbornewaste. Among those wastes, some materi-als, including nicotine, are designated bythe EPA as Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)chemicals. These are possible environ-mental health hazards. In 1995, the globaltobacco industry produced an estimated2262 million kilograms of manufacturingwaste and 209 million kilograms of chemi-cal waste. In addition, total nicotine wasteproduced in the manufacture of reducednicotine cigarettes was estimated at 300million kilograms.Conclusions—Laws against littering rela-tive to cigarette butts could be betterenforced. Additional taxes might be levied

on cigarette products that would then bedirected to environmental clean-upeVorts. The tobacco industry shouldimprove the biodegradability of filters,reduce packaging waste, and educate itscustomers. Worksites and public buildingsshould be encouraged or required to sup-ply appropriate disposal mechanisms atall building entrances. Public awarenesscampaigns about the magnitude andprevention of cigarette consumption wastecould be developed through partnershipsamong environmental groups, healthorganisations, and environmental protec-tion agencies. Tobacco production wasteshould be a source of concern and regula-tion by governments throughout theworld; it contains numerous chemicalswhich may be considered health hazards,not the least of which is nicotine producedin the manufacture of low-nicotinecigarettes.(Tobacco Control 1999;8:75–80)

Keywords: tobacco waste, litter, environmental impact

IntroductionExternalities are the costs or eVects of aconsumer behaviour that may not be borne bythe consumer and hence may not be includedin the price of the consumed good.1 For exam-ple, a commonly analysed externality ofcigarette smoking is the economic cost ofsmoking-attributable medical care for smok-ers, which is borne by non-smokers and bygovernments as well as by the smoker.2

Another externality is the health eVects ofenvironmental tobacco smoke on non-smokersand on families of smokers.3 Finally, otherenvironmental externalities include deforesta-tion as a result of tobacco production (seepages 18–28 of this issue), pesticide use intobacco agriculture, and fires caused bycigarette smoking. All these externalities aVectthe social costs of smoking, which may need tobe addressed by policy actions of governmentor the private sector. Here we describeadditional externalities of tobacco useinvolving waste production due to individualconsumption as well as to the tobaccomanufacturing process.

The waste products of cigarette consump-tion are clearly visible whenever one walks on acity sidewalk or uses a public beach. Cigarettebutts, packages, cellophane wrappers, and car-tons are ubiquitous forms of trash. Although

Tobacco Control 1999;8:75–80 75

OYce of GlobalHealth, Centers forDisease Control andPrevention, Atlanta,Georgia, USAT E Novotny

Johns Hopkins Schoolof Hygiene and PublicHealth, Baltimore,MarylandF Zhao

Correspondence to:TE Novotny, OYce ofGlobal Health, Centers forDisease Control andPrevention, K01, 4770Buford Highway NE,Atlanta, Georgia30341–3717, USA;Tnovotny@bellatlantic.net

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the paper and tobacco components arebiodegradable, the filters and plastic wrappersare retained in the environment for longperiods of time. Cigarette filters mostcommonly contain cellulose acetate,4 and someresearch has been undertaken by the tobaccoindustry to improve biodegradation of thismaterial.5 Cellulose acetate filters may persistunder normal environmental conditions for 18months or more.6 Moreover, the buttsthemselves may be an acute health hazard toanimals and to small children, who may eatthem.7

Historically, the ocean has been a commondumping ground for human-made debris.Although cities can successfully treat sewagebefore environmental discharge, much of themarine debris from developed countriesoriginates inland, even on city streets, wherecigarette butts are dropped casually by thesmoker, washed into storm sewers or drainageditches, and out into larger waterways to the

ocean. These items and the cigarette debristossed directly onto beaches and otherwaterways have been subject to the Center forMarine Conservation (CMC) InternationalCleanup Project since 1990.8

In addition, tobacco manufacturing pro-duces chemical wastes, including nicotine, inthe manufacture of cigarettes, cigars,smokeless tobacco, and other products. Manyof these waste products are potentialenvironmental hazards, and they are subject tocareful regulation regarding disposal in mostdeveloped countries. The most hazardouschemicals released to the environment by allmanufacturers, including the tobacco industry,in the United States are reported through theToxics Release Inventory (TRI) each year.9

Data sourcesData on cigarette butts found in marine andother aquatic environments have been reportedsince 1990 by the CMC as part of thevolunteer-based International CoastalCleanup Project.8 The CMC is the leadingadvocacy group working in the United Stateson marine debris as an environmental issue. Inaddition, information on cigarette butts andpackets collected on Clean Up Australia Day isavailable for 1993.10 Total cigarette filter,packet, and carton waste production can beestimated by using World Health Organisationcomposite data sources on production,exports, imports, and per cent filter-tipcigarette consumption (personal communica-tion via email, Emmanuel Guindon, WorldHealth Organisation, August 1998).

A variety of publications report informationon chemical wastes that are produced intobacco manufacturing. The Statistical record ofthe environment9 reports chemicals in tobaccomanufacturing waste in the United States thatare treated onsite and oVsite or are releasedinto the environment. Operating and capitalinvestment cost estimates for abatement ofthese wastes are available for 1988–1992. Wealso reviewed older reports providing informa-tion on tobacco manufacturing wasteproduction and pollution control.11 12 Finally, asingle report, from Italy, describes how solidwaste produced in manufacturing low-nicotinetobacco products contains high concentrationsof nicotine.13

Data extraction and synthesisCONSUMPTION WASTE

Worldwide, an estimated 5.535 trillioncommercially manufactured cigarettes wereconsumed in 1995 (table 1). Specific estimateson filtered cigarette consumption for that yearare available for 49 countries.14 Theseestimates were calculated as the number ofunits manufactured in the country, plusimports and minus exports; smuggling totalswere excluded (globally, up to a third of annualexports are contraband, or smuggled15). Basedon a weighted average of filtered cigarette con-sumption reported from the 49 countries, itwas estimated that 83% of cigarettes consumedwere filter-tipped. The number of packages(assumed average 20 cigarettes per package)

Table 1 Estimates of total and filtered cigarette consumption, cartons, and packagesproduced in 49 selected countries and worldwide, 1995 (million units)

CountryCigaretteconsumption

% ofFilteredcigarettes(sales) Cigarette filters Cartons Packages

Argentina 41 000 98 40 180 205 2 050Australia 32 179 95 30 570 161 1 609Austria 13 192 99 13 060 66 660Bangladesh 14 450 14 2 023 72 723Belgium-Luxembourg 16 194 95.5 15 465 81 810Brazil 1 194 000 99 118 206 597 5 970Bulgaria 16 000 92.8 14 848 80 800Canada 53 500 97.5 52 163 268 2 675Chile 12 561 99 12 435 63 628China 1 660 250 72 1 195 380 8 301 83 013Colombia 19 800 85.1 16 850 99 990Cuba 15 900 48.5 7 712 80 795Former

Czechoslovakia 29 150 95 27 693 146 1 458Denmark 8 360 83.5 6 981 42 418Egypt 38 745 92.1 35 684 194 1 937France 88 336 86.9 76 764 442 4 417Former Soviet Union 352 550 74.9 264 060 1 763 17 628Germany 149 000 95.7 142 593 745 7 450Greece 30 700 97.6 29 963 154 1 535Hungary 28 850 96.4 27 811 144 1 443India 87 430 64.5 56 392 437 4 372Indonesia 175 810 69 121 309 879 8 791Iran 24 000 81.11* 19 466 120 1 200Iraq 13 200 81.11* 10 707 66 660Italy 87 750 94 82 485 439 4 388Japan 318 177 99 314 995 1 591 15 909Malaysia 16 700 94.7 15 815 84 835Mexico 46 298 81.9 37 918 231 2 315Morocco 15 526 55 8 539 78 776Netherlands 25 000 88.9 22 225 125 1 250Nigeria 18 500 70 12 950 93 925Philippines 62 009 95.5 59 219 310 3100Poland 103 000 76.9 79 207 515 5 150Portugal 16 247 97 15 760 81 812Romania 39 000 50 19 500 195 1 950Saudi Arabia 19 850 81.11* 16 100 99 993South Africa 37 695 92.1 34 717 188 1 885South Korea 93 500 98 91,630 468 4 675Spain 77 980 97 75 641 390 3 899Sweden 8 200 96 7 872 41 410Switzerland 15 550 99.3 15 441 78 778Taiwan 37 997 99 37 617 190 1 900Thailand 48 600 97 47 142 243 2 430Turkey 96 500 91.1 87 912 483 4 825United Kingdom 90 970 99 90 060 455 4 549United States 470 000 96.1 451 670 2 350 23 500Venezuela 9 653 98 9 460 48 483Yugoslavia 45 000 81.11* 36 500 225 2 250Subtotal 4 840 259 4 008 689 24 201 242 013World 5 535 059 82.82* 4 584 136 27 675 276 753

Source: National statistics/trade source/industry estimates/United States Department ofAgriculture/World Tobacco*Estimated percentages. World total is a weighted average using filtered cigarette consumptionfrom all 49 countries with available data.

76 Novotny, Zhao

produced globally was estimated at 276 753million, and the number of cartons (assumedaverage 10 packets per carton) was estimatedat 27 675 million. Table 1 does not includeestimates for other packing materials, such asthe corrugated paper boxes used to packagecartons and the plastic wrappers used on somecigarette packages.

The data in table 1 represent the potentialtrash that may be produced globally bycigarette consumption. No data are availablethat may be used to quantify precisely theamount of trash deposited directly into theenvironment, but some countries, notablyAustralia, have attempted to describe thenature of trash collected from various sites,including waterways, roadways, parkland, pub-lic facilities, and so forth.10 Overall in Australia,cigarette butts comprised 5.0% (by absolutenumber) of all trash items collected on oneclean-up day in 1993. They ranked sixthamong all items collected (figure 1); inaddition, cigarette packets and cartons werethe most common individual paper items(“paper pieces” in the figure).

Since 1986, CMC volunteers around theworld (90 countries in 1997) have participatedin local clean-up eVorts at approximately 5000sites, including land-only, underwater, andshoreline sites. In 1997, 6 185 081 debris itemswere removed from these sites, and cigarettebutts were the leading item among the top 20items collected. Cigarette butts were almostthree times as likely to be found as the nextmost frequent item, “plastic pieces.” Overall,cigarette butts represented 19.1% of all itemscollected in 1997; since 1990, cigarette buttshave represented at least 12% of total itemscollected (figure 2) (personal communicationvia email, Laurie Williams, Center for MarineConservation, August 1998).

PRODUCTION WASTE

The tobacco manufacturing process producesliquid, solid, and airborne wastes.11 Liquidwastes include tobacco slurries, solvents, oils,and greases that originate in the manufacturingprocesses, building services, and facilities thatmay need special treatment or disposal. Solidwastes include paper, wood, plastics, unusabletobacco, packaging materials, and dirt thatoriginate in the manufacturing process. Thesewaste products are resold, recirculated,compacted, or put in landfills. Airborne wastes

include non-toxic odours of manufacturing,in-plant dust, tobacco volatiles and particles,and other emissions. Abatement programmesfor airborne waste include use of filters, dustcollectors and scrubbers, low-sulphur fuels,and other controls.

Of greatest environmental concern amongthe manufacturing wastes are those chemicals(n = 643) specified as reportable to the TRI,developed by the United States EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) under the Emer-gency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986.16 A waste is consideredhazardous if it exhibits one or more of the fol-lowing characteristics: ignitability (flammabil-ity), corrosivity (against metal), reactivity(capability of causing explosions, toxic fumes,gases, or vapours), or toxicity (harmful or fatalwhen ingested or absorbed). In the UnitedStates in 1992, the TRI reported in the Statis-tical record of the environment that tobaccomanufacturing generated more than 27 millionkilograms of production-related chemicalwaste, of which 2.2 million kilograms wereTRI-treated or released into the environment.Overall, the tobacco industry ranked 18thamong all industries in total chemical wasteproduction.9

A 1970 study on solid waste management inthe United States tobacco manufacturingindustry estimated that in 1963, 2700 kg ofgeneral solid waste were generated permanufacturing employee (total 225 millionkilograms).12 We applied the estimated totalchemical waste production for 1992 and theestimated solid waste production for 1963 tothe number of cigarettes manufactured inthose years to develop ratios of each waste tocigarettes produced. Adjusting these data for1995 (the last year for which cigarettemanufacturing data are available), we estimatethat in the United States, 293 millionkilograms of solid waste and 27 millionkilograms of total chemical waste wereproduced (table 2). Globally, these totals are2262 million kilograms for total solid wastesand 209 million kilograms for chemicals.

We also drew on an estimate of US$48 mil-lion for the total 1992 abatement costs for TRIchemicals reported by the American tobaccomanufacturing industry.9 Inflating these costsby the American consumer price indexincrease for 1992–1995 and cigaretteproduction increases, $52 million were spent inabatement for 1995; the global abatement costestimate is $402 million in that year (table 2).

Figure 1 The 10 most common items of trash (52.4% of total trash) collected onAustralia Clean Up Day 1993. Source: Keep Australia Beautiful National Association.

Paper beverage bottles7.0%

Plastic drinking straw3.6%

Plastic bottle caps and lids3.6%

Plastic food bags/wrappers4.4%

Plastic supermarket bags4.4%

Cigarette butts5.0%

Plastic chip/confectionery5.1%

Metal beverage cans6.1%

Glass pieces6.2%

Paper pieces7.0%

Figure 2 Percentage of cigarette butts among debriscollected by International Beach Cleanup, 1990–1997.Source: Centre for Marine Conservation.

20

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15

5

01997

Cig

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utt

s (%

)

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

Tobacco consumption and production waste 77

These estimates assume that all cigaretteproduction processes around the world aresimilar and were unchanged with respect towaste production between 1963 and 1995 andthat prices to control these wastes wouldincrease at the same rate as the consumer priceindex. It may be that the price to control suchwaste has diminished with improved technol-ogy, but it may also be true that more stringentenvironmental controls, at least in industrialcountries, may create higher costs of managingsolid, liquid, and airborne wastes due to manu-facturing.

The actual TRI chemicals reported byAmerican manufacturers for 1996 (the lastyear for which data are reported) are shown intable 3. These include sources from cigarettes,cigars, smokeless tobacco, and other manufac-turing sites.17 These wastes were treated onsite,treated oVsite, or released into theenvironment. The total (3 114 221 kg) isalmost a million kilograms higher than the TRItotal reported in 1992 (table 2), but asignificant portion of this diVerence may beaccounted for by the inclusion of nicotine inthe TRI. A discussion of the potential environ-mental impact of all these chemical releases isbeyond the scope of this paper.

Nicotine is an interesting tobacco produc-tion waste product. The tobacco manufactur-ing process and all activities that use tobaccoproduce solid or liquid wastes with highconcentrations of nicotine.13 Partly in responseto information about the addictive nature ofnicotine,18 19 the market for low-nicotinecigarettes has been growing. Thus, an ironicoutcome of this market growth is the increasedneed to detoxify nicotine in tobaccoproduction waste. A non-recyclable, powdery,

nicotine-containing waste is formed duringtobacco production, which has averagenicotine content of 18 g per kg of dry weight.This waste is classified as “toxic andhazardous” by European Union Regulationswhen the nicotine content exceeds 500 mg perkg dry weight. According to a 1997 study fromItaly, an average 3 million kilograms of thiswaste are reported in 1995 by the tobaccoindustry to be produced from 55 300 millioncigarettes manufactured in that country.13 Ifmanufacturing processes and waste outputsper million cigarettes produced in the UnitedStates and globally are similar to thosereported in Italy, it is estimated that38 870 000 kg of nicotine waste was producedin the United States in 1995, and300 274 000 kg was produced globally in thesame year. Denicotinisation of waste requireschemical–physical treatments or biologicalmethods with microorganisms to reduce thenicotine content of released wastes below thethreshold of 500 mg per kg. In the UnitedStates, nicotine has been included on the TRIlist since November 1994.20 Nicotine itself is ananti-parasitic plant pesticide.

Conclusions and recommendationsThe health consequences of cigarette smokingto smokers and exposed non-smokers are wellknown. Cigarette products and productionmay also aVect environments in other ways thatrequire attention from environmental groups,industry, and government. Cellulose acetatefilters from cigarette butts do not rapidlybiodegrade; thus, they are a relativelylong-lasting environmental problem, especiallyin waterways and run-oVs from urban environ-ments. At least 4.5 trillion filter-tippedcigarettes are deposited annually somewhere inthe world. Many will find their way into appro-priate disposal facilities, but the CMCclean-up data suggest that a large number endup on beaches and in other aquaticenvironments.

Smokers may not consider that a cigarettebutt is litter, but these waste products seem tobe ubiquitous. Perhaps because of theproliferation of restrictions on smoking inworksites and public places, it is common forbuilding entrances to have a collection of ciga-rette butts nearby. These collections come inlarge part from smokers discarding cigarettesbefore they enter the building and fromworkers smoking on breaks. Some worksiteshave made special attempts to provideappropriate disposal facilities (figure 3).

Nevertheless, cigarette butts are frequently asource of urban blight and environmental pol-lution. In addition to the environmentalcontamination by cigarette butts, consumptionwaste left in ashtrays in the homes of smokersmay be a source of poisoning for youngchildren. In 1994–1996, the Rhode IslandDepartment of Health identified 40 cases ofcigarette butt ingestion among children aged 6to 24 months as reported by the poison-controlsystem in that state.7 Thirteen of the cases ofingestion produced symptoms such asvomiting, gagging, and lethargy.

Table 2 Estimated total tobacco production waste, chemical wastes, and Toxics ReleaseInventory chemical abatement costs, United States and global, 1995

Cigaretteproduction*(million pieces) Total wastes† (kg)

Total chemicalwaste‡ (kg)

Total cost for TRIchemicalabatement§ (US$)

United States 716 500 292 794 224 27 008 041 52 139 701(projected) (projected) (projected)

Global 5 535 059 2 261 874 818 208 640 754 402 786 213(projected) (projected) (projected)

*Source: Table 1, United States Department of Agriculture.†Source: United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare: A study of solid wastemanagement in the tobacco products industry, extrapolated to 1995 production levels for UnitedStates and World from table 1.‡Source: Cummins 1970, inflated to 1995 production estimates from table 1.§Source: Statistical record of the environment 1995 (TRI chemicals only), costs inflated from 1992by consumer price index increase from 1992 to 1995.

Table 3 Releases to the environment of Toxics ReleaseInventory chemicals by tobacco manufacturing industry,United States, 1996*

ChemicalTotal quantityreleased (kg)

Ammonia 946 155Ethylene glycol 8 936Hydrochloric acid 407 371Hydrogen fluoride 27 937Methyl ethyl ketone 340 821Nicotine and nicotine salts 900 377Nitric acid 58 970Phosphoric acid 6 804Sulphuric acid 67 228Toluene 349 622

*Source: Right to Know database, 1996; includes air, water,land, underground injection, and oVsite transfers.

78 Novotny, Zhao

The cigarette butt problem may be mitigatedthrough several channels other than generaltobacco control eVorts. First, laws against litter-ing could be better enforced relative to cigarettebutts. Second, additional taxes could be leviedon cigarette products that could be directed toenvironmental clean-up eVorts for consumptionand production waste. Third, the tobaccoindustry should improve the biodegradability offilters, reduce packaging waste, educate itscustomers about their responsibility to the envi-ronment, and strive to responsibly manage pro-duction waste in developing countries as well asdeveloped countries. Fourth, administrators ofworksites and public buildings should beencouraged or required to supply appropriatedisposal mechanisms at all building entrances(this might even be cost-eVective in terms ofpublic image, janitorial costs, and fireprevention) (figure 3). Fifth, increased publicawareness campaigns about the magnitude andprevention of tobacco consumption andproduction waste could be developed throughpartnerships between environmental groups,health organisations, and environmental protec-tion agencies.

Tobacco manufacturers, like other manufac-turers in the United States and in other devel-oped countries, generate several toxicchemicals as production waste. The EPA andother similar organisations in developed coun-tries help assure that industry reports andmanages such waste. However, it is not knownwhat abatement procedures are being used indeveloping countries, where cigarette produc-tion capacity has rapidly increased in recentyears. To meet the demands of emerging mar-kets, it is likely that cigarette manufacturerswill gravitate towards manufacturing venueswhere regulation is less stringent. In theabsence of public awareness and governmentalregulations, tobacco manufacturers may not

address the problem of significant solid, liquid,airborne, and chemically toxic waste producedin cigarette manufacturing. Thus, it may beprudent for multinational health, trade, andeconomic agencies to raise environmental con-siderations related to tobacco production as aglobal health issue.

Additional research is needed to quantify theenvironmental impact of both tobaccoconsumption and production waste. Tobaccois a hazardous product when used as directed,but there is also a hazard due to productionand consumption waste deposited into theenvironment. Perhaps the tobacco industryshould be held partly accountable for the envi-ronmental clean-up costs related to cigarettebutts and totally responsible for abatement ofhazardous wastes resulting from the manufac-turing process. It has been increasingly heldaccountable for the medical care costsassociated with treating tobacco-attributableillnesses. This accountability should extendbeyond the provision of cigarette butt disposaldevices to smokers, which is primarily a publicrelations gimmick. It should also extendbeyond the borders of developed countries,where regulatory controls on manufacturingwaste may actually be enforced, to developingcountries, which are increasingly at risk forenvironmental contamination as cigarette pro-duction capacity in those countries expands.

The authors would like to thank members of Globalink, whoprovided valuable information used in this report, as well asLaurie Williams of the Center for Marine Conservation for pro-viding data from the Coastal Cleanup Project and EmmanuelGuindon of the World Health Organisation for providing dataon cigarette consumption. The opinions expressed are solelythose of the authors and do not represent oYcial positions of theUnited States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention orthe Johns Hopkins University.

1 Jacobs P. The economics of health and medical care, 2nd ed.Rockville, Maryland: Aspen, 1987.

2 Miller LS, Zhang X, Novotny T, et al. State estimates ofMedicaid expenditures attributable to cigarette smoking—United States, fiscal year 1993. Public Health Rep1998;113:140–51.

3 US Environmental Protection Agency. Respiratory healtheVects of passive smoking: lung cancer and other disorders.Washington, DC: OYce of Health and EnvironmentalAssessment, 1992. (Publication No EPA/600/6-90/006F.)

4 US Department of Health and Human Services. Reducingthe health consequences of smoking: 25 years of progress. Areport of the Surgeon General, 1989. Rockville, Maryland:Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, Officeon Smoking and Health, 1989. (DHHS Publication No(CDC) 89-8411.)

5 Collazo H, Haynes SK, McDonough MM. The mecha-nisms of degradation of cellulose acetate in the environ-ment. Abstract No 5021, Tobacco Chemists’ ResearchConference, 1996.

6 Ach A. Biodegradable plastics based on cellulose acetate. JMacromol Sci Pure Appl Chem 1993;A30:733–40.

7 US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ingestionof cigarettes and cigarette butts by children—RhodeIsland, January 1994–July 1996. MMWR 1997;46:125–8.

8 Center for Marine Conservation. 1996 international coastalcleanup results. Washington, DC: Center for MarineConservation, 1997.

9 Dorgan CA. Statistical record of the environment, 3rd ed. NewYork: Gale Research Inc., 1995.

10 Clean Up Australia. Cleaning up Australia. Report on CleanUp Australia activities 1993. Clean Up Australia: Canberra,Australia, 1994.

11 US National Industrial Pollution Control Council. Thetobacco industry and pollution, sub-council report. WashingtonDC: US Government Printing OYce, 1972. (PublicationNo 483-135/6.)

12 Cummins RL. A study of solid waste management in thetobacco products industry. In: A division of technical opera-tions open-file progress report (T05.4/0). Washington, DC:US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, PublicHealth Service Environmental Health Service, Bureau ofSolid Waste Management, 1970.

13 Civilini M, Domenis C, Sebastianutto N, et al. Nicotinedecontamination of tobacco agro-industrial waste and its

Figure 3 Cigarette disposal container outside oYces inWashington, DC, USA. Worksite smoking bans haveincreased the problem of cigarette butts littering buildingentrances.

Tobacco consumption and production waste 79

degradation by micro-organisms. Waste Manage Res 1997;15:349–58.

14 Market Tracking International Ltd. World tobacco file, 1996,vol 2. London: International Trade Publications Ltd,1996.

15 Joosens L, Raw M. Cigarette smuggling in Europe: whoreally benefits? Tobacco Control 1998;7:66–71.

16 US Environmental Protection Agency. RCRA: reducing riskfrom waste. Washington, DC: EPA, September 1997. (EPA530-K-97-004.)

17 Anon. <www.rtk.net> Right-to-Know network: EPA TRISdatabase. OMB Watch and Unison Institute, WashingtonDC, 15 December 1998.

18 US Department of Health and Human Services. The healthconsequences of smoking: nicotine addiction. A report of the

Surgeon General, 1988. Rockville, Maryland: Public HealthService, Centers for Disease Control, OYce on Smokingand Health, 1988. (DHHS Publication No (CDC)88-8406.)

19 US Department of Health and Human Services. The healthconsequences of smoking: the changing cigarette. A report of theSurgeon General, 1981. Rockville, Maryland: Public HealthService, OYce of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Officeon Smoking and Health, 1981. (DHHS Publication No(PHS) 81-50156.)

20 US Environmental Protection Agency. Emergency planningand community right-to-know section 313: list of toxicchemicals. Washington, DC: EPA, September 1996. (EPA745-B-96-001.)

Waste not, want notReconstituted tobacco, known as “sheet” in the cigarette industry, is a major ingredient inmodern cigarettes. It is manufactured from the recycled stems, stalks, scrap, collected dust,and floor sweepings from tobacco manufacturing plants. Various patents have been awardedto tobacco manufacturers for processing waste such as this into sheet. The ground-up mate-rials are denicotinised, and chemicals, fillers, glue, and other agents are added to the slurry.The sheet is then pressed out and puVed, renicotinised, and ground into tiny curls beforebeing incorporated into cigarettes. The waste constituents use in this process are importedand exported, depending on economic conditions. In 1995, 1 135 755 kg of tobacco stemsand refuse were imported and 1 989 786 kg were exported by the United States.

Source: US import and exports history database, US Department of Commerce.

Australian anti-litter advertisement promoted in 1996 by the New SouthWales government, the Sydney Water Board, and the Clean Waterwaysorganisation.

80 Novotny, Zhao