New cigarettes a slow, safer burn
Citing safety as the reason for the legislation, a new Indiana law taking effect July 1 will require all cigarettes sold in Indiana to burn out more quickly when left unattended in an effort to reduce the number of smoking-related fires.
Cigarettes are the No. 1 cause of fatal residential fires in the country, killing approximately 800 people annually. One-quarter of victims of smoking-material fire fatalities are not the smokers whose cigarettes started the fire; 34 percent are children of the smokers, 25 percent are neighbors or friends, 14 percent are spouses or partners and 13 percent are parents.
Last year, there were 138 smoking-related fires in Indiana, leading to four deaths, 11 injuries and $3.4 million in property damage, according to the National Fire Incident Reporting System. In 2005, NFIRS showed that 124 reported smoking-related fires occurred. Those fires caused two civilian deaths, 16 civilian injuries and five firefighter injuries with property loss at almost $1.5 million.
The new design of cigarettes contains the same amount of tobacco as before but force a smoker to inhale to get the flame through two strips of paper incorporated into the cigarette. The two (or sometimes three) thin bands of less-porous paper act as “speed bumps” to slow down a burning cigarette. If a fire-safe cigarette is left unattended, the burning tobacco will reach one of these speed bumps and self-extinguish. The change in design isn’t expected to change cigarette prices. The law doesn’t apply to cigarettes that consumers roll themselves.
“The cigarettes are made from the same blend of tobacco as regular cigarettes,” Jim Greeson, Indiana state fire marshal and Indiana Department of Homeland Security Division of Fire and Building Safety director, said. “The only difference to the consumer is they need to puff it more often or relight it.”
Indiana’s law was signed in March 2008. Forty-eight states either have similar laws in place or will have new regulations in effect by August 2010.
To know which cigarettes are fire safe, check the UPC code for either the marking “FSC” (most common); a heavy black line above the UPC; a diamond symbol; or the letters FS, LIP or RIP.
Copyright © 2009 Corydondemocrat
