Cigarette filters and some heated tobacco components can break down into small plastic particles in the environment. This study compared microplastics from conventional cigarette butts with those from heated tobacco devices before and after accelerated UV aging.
UV aging reduced nicotine to below detection limits and caused some heated-tobacco cellulose acetate particles to break into smaller pieces. In the laboratory tests used in this study, the researchers found no significant toxic effects in the tested organisms or human lung cells, and UV aging did not change the measured toxicological profile.