It’s a PR challenge on a par with sprucing up the black death’s public image. But for the people marketing tobacco there is a glimmer of hope in the form of biodegradable cigarette filters that are supposedly better for smokers as well as for the environment.
The compostable filters are made from food-grade starch, the carbohydrate polymer in foods such as potatoes and rice. The British company that is developing them, Southampton-based Stanelco, which already makes biodegradable packaging, says it is in talks with cigarette manufacturers in Europe, North America and Asia about using them to replace existing filters.
“There is no safe cigarette, but that…
