I'm not missing wtf?

[Swimmingdancer]

No, a cigarette filter is not even close to plenty efficient. You should be using a real filter. If you're not, at least use cotton.
Someone posted an experiment someone did recently that proved that micron filters were the best, of course. Cotton was second.

Do you have a link? I saw a study that said the reverse, that a cigarette filter was better and more reliable than cotton. It seems to be a matter of controversy. Either way, I think, like you said, a piece of a tampon would be better than a piece of a cotton ball/q-tip.