Cigarette filter in the context of Filtration

In biochemistry, cellulose acetate refers to any acetate ester of cellulose, usually cellulose diacetate. It was first prepared in 1865. A bioplastic, cellulose acetate is used as a film base in photography, as a component in some coatings, and as a frame material for eyeglasses; it is also used as a synthetic fiber in the manufacture of cigarette filters and playing cards. In photographic film, cellulose acetate film replaced nitrate film in the 1950s, being far less flammable and cheaper to produce.

Water-soluble cellulose acetate (WSCA) has been used as a dietary fiber (prebiotic), in relation with weight loss and Akkermansia muciniphila.

A cigarette is a thin cylinder of tobacco rolled in thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder, and the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opposite end. Cigarette smoking is the most common method of tobacco consumption. The term cigarette refers to a tobacco cigarette, but the word is sometimes used to refer to other substances, such as a cannabis cigarette or a herbal cigarette. A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its usually smaller size, use of processed leaf, different smoking method, and paper wrapping, which is typically white.

Deaths from smoking cigarettes are caused by diseases such as cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, birth defects, and other health problems relating to nearly every organ of the body. Most modern cigarettes are filtered, but this does not make the smoke inhaled from them contain fewer carcinogens or harmful chemicals. Nicotine, the psychoactive drug in tobacco, makes cigarettes highly addictive. About half of cigarette smokers die of tobacco-related disease and lose on average 14 years of life. Every year, cigarette smoking causes more than 8 million deaths worldwide; more than 1.3 million of these are non-smokers dying as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke. These harmful effects have led to legislation that has prohibited smoking in many workplaces and public areas, regulated marketing and purchasing age of tobacco, and levied taxes to discourage cigarette use.

A cigarillo (from Spanish cigarrillo 'cigarette'; in turn from cigarro 'cigar' and -illo (diminutive suffix); pronounced [siɣaˈriʝo] in parts of Latin America, [θiɣaˈriʎo] in Spain) is a short, narrow cigar. Unlike cigarettes, cigarillos are wrapped in tobacco leaves or brown, tobacco-based paper. Cigarillos are smaller than regular cigars but usually larger than cigarettes. Cigarillos are usually made without filters, and are meant to be smoked like a cigar and not inhaled (except those made in this form only for specific tax issues).

Generally, a cigarillo contains about three grams of tobacco; the length varies from seven to ten centimetres (3–4 in) and the diameter is about 6–9 mm, usually 8 mm. Comparatively, a cigarette contains less than one gram of tobacco, and is about eight centimetres (3 in) in length and 8 mm in diameter. Most cigarillos are machine-made, which is cheaper than hand-rolling. It is unusual to store them in humidors, partly because they are smoked in large quantities and so have a short shelf-life.