The Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) will be participating in the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-2) to advocate for a ban on cigarette filters.

Summary: UNEA Resolution 5/14 calls for the development of a global plastics treaty. Formal negotiations start at the end of November 2022. The treaty is expected to address the issue of Single Use Plastics (SUPs), under which cigarette filters have been classified.

The Resolution encourages broad multi-stakeholder involvement including the private sector. There is no express provision for excluding the tobacco industry from having a seat at the policy development table.

At EU level, the Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive has introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) which implementation for tobacco products sometimes vulnerates EU’s alignment with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), and notably its article 5.3.