Tobacco companies introduced cigarette filters in the 1950s because of growing public concerns about smoking’s risks. Consumers were told the filters removed toxins and harmful gases, among numerous bogus health claims.

The nadir of this outrageous public relations effort might have been filters containing asbestos.

Filters were good marketing, not good science. All these years later, the claims are gone, but the filters remain.

Now, researchers in health care policy and evidence-based health care at Oxford University and the University of Massachusetts argue that a ban would make cigarettes “more honest.” While tobacco companies no longer assert that filters offer a health benefit, the perception that filters reduce risk is still strong among consumers.

Smoking is dangerous. Period. Some scientists say they might even exacerbate the danger. The filters, they say, make it easier to deeply inhale smoke into the lungs, raising lung cancer risk.

Beyond health concerns, they argue that cigarette filters pose a danger to the environment. Cigarettes are the most littered item on Earth, with an estimated 4-and-a-half million discarded annually.

Filters are composed of cellulose acetate, a plastic that breaks down and contributes to the microplastic crisis facing humanity. Those tiny plastics end up in human organs, including the brain.

While tobacco companies are now offering biodegradable filters, the researchers say this offers only the illusion of environmental responsibility.

So, if someone tells you filters make cigarettes safer, they’re blowing smoke.