Developmental toxicity of cigarette butts – An underdeveloped issue

Cigarette butts (CBs) littering is not just an unsightly nuisance but also a public health problem, because chemicals contained in cigarettes can leach into aquatic environments and pose a risk to the health of humans and wildlife. However, this risk is largely unrecognized or ignored by the public, and toxicological evidence of CBs is scarce. Therefore, we used medaka embryos (Oryzias latipes) to explore developmental toxicity of CBs. The embryos were exposed to various concentrations of leachates from smoked and unsmoked cigarette tobacco (ST and UST) and filters (SF and USF), and observed from 1 to 3 days post-fertilization. The images were recorded and several developmental endpoints analyzed. The values from these endpoints were then used to calculate the Integrated Biomarker Response and evaluate overall effects of the leachates. Some of the embryos were allowed to hatch, and the hatchlings were tested for anxiety-like behavior. Our results showed that low concentrations of the leachates from ST, UST, and SF raised the heart rate, accelerated development, and changed behavior, while high concentrations lowered the heart rate, suppressed development, and increased mortality. The lowest observed effect concentration for the leachates was ≤0.2 piece (pc)/L. The USF leachate had no effect at the concentration of 20 pc/L. Developmental toxicity of the leachates was ranked as: ST>UST>SF>USF. This study has demonstrated for the first time that CB leachates affect fish development, and provided toxicological evidence to better assess ecological impacts of CBs.

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