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Letters to the editor
Consumers' knowledge and beliefs about the safety of cigarette filters
  1. JANICE L HASTRUP
  1. State University of New York at Buffalo,
  2. Roswell Park Cancer Institute
  3. Elm and Carlton Streets
  4. Buffalo, New York 14263
  5. USA
  1. Dr Cummings michael.cummings{at}roswellpark.org
  1. K MICHAEL CUMMINGS,
  2. TRACY SWEDROCK,
  3. ANDREW HYLAND,
  4. JOHN L PAULY
  1. State University of New York at Buffalo,
  2. Roswell Park Cancer Institute
  3. Elm and Carlton Streets
  4. Buffalo, New York 14263
  5. USA
  1. Dr Cummings michael.cummings{at}roswellpark.org

https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.10.1.84

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    Editor,—The primary purpose of the cigarette filter is reduction of tar in tobacco smoke.1 2 Filters also keep tobacco flakes out of smokers' mouths.1 The standard filter used on cigarettes today contains 15 000 fibres per filter.1

    Several studies have demonstrated that the filter material (cellulose acetate fibres) can become detached.3-7 Pauly and colleagues have recently observed cigarette filter fibres in human lung specimens, indicating that the material is respirable.8 A study of filter fibres implanted in mice for six months demonstrated that fibres resist biodegradation.5 As a result of burning tobacco, the discharged fibres are also coated with tobacco tar, which contains carcinogens.5 Such inhaled filter fibres may pose a previously undefined health risk to …

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