The decline of the cigarette filter

Abstract

People are smoking less than they used to. That’s good news for public health. But for the few chemical firms that make the cellulose acetate fibers used in cigarette filters, the decline poses a long-term threat to one of their most profitable businesses. These companies now find themselves shuttering plants dedicated to the cigarette raw material. Some are looking for new markets in related chemicals to help cover the declining demand. Cigarette filters became mainstream in the 1950s. “Once pooh-poohed as refinements intended for dilettantes and eccentric millionaires, filter cigarettes have by now gained acceptance among the public,” C&EN declared in a 1956 article. At the time, cellulose acetate was emerging as the preeminent filter material, beating out cotton and crocidolite, a form of asbestos. To make cellulose acetate, companies expose wood pulp to acetic anhydride, which replaces hydroxyl groups in the cellulose with acetyl groups. The resulting cellulose acetate