Cigarette butts may pose a risk to the health of smokers and nonsmokers alike by acting as genetic pools of microbial antibiotic resistance, researchers report.

With estimated annual cigarette consumption reaching nine trillion this year, the findings suggest that discarded butts present both a major health and environmental issue.

The study, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , revealed that cigarette butts were significant reservoirs and amplifiers of antibiotic resistance genes, which can drive the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens.

Discarded butts harbored significantly higher levels of antibiotic resistance genes and potential pathogens than either plant litter or soil among hundreds of urban green spaces studied in China.

Genomic and phenotypic analy

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