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.

SFP is in Paris from 29 May to 2 June, to join forces with the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance (STPA) and push for key messages to ensure that the currently negotiated UN plastic treaty talks align with EU and global legal tobacco control commitments.

1. Cigarettes are the most ubiquitous piece of litter on the planet, containing toxic substances that poison both smokers and the environment;
2. Regulating and banning cigarette filters is within the scope of the global plastics treaty negotiations;
3. Extended Producer Rresponsibility (EPR) schemes have been exploited by tobacco companies to greenwash their activities;
4. Cigarette butts and the plastics in tobacco packaging are estimated to cost governments USD 1 billion a year in waste management costs and USD 20 billion a year in loss of marine ecosystem services.