Cigarettes in state to be 'fire safe'
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HARRISBURG -- Cigarettes in Pennsylvania are due to get safer, under legislation approved by the Legislature.
House Bill 1612, introduced by Rep. Timothy J. Solobay, D-Washington, would require all cigarettes sold in Pennsylvania to be "fire safe."
Low-ignition strength cigarettes are less likely to cause a fire if they are left unattended by careless smokers, said state Fire Commissioner Edward A. Mann, who praised the legislation.
Mr. Mann said, "Fire-safe cigarettes are rolled with bands of less porous, slow-burning paper, so if the cigarette is left unattended, it will go out when it burns down to one of those bands. There have been too many tragedies caused by the careless use of cigarettes, and this standard is designed to reduce that risk." The bill was passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate and will be signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell, said spokesman Chuck Ardo.
"The governor believes that any measure that helps reduce accidental fires and the accompanying property damage, injury or senseless loss of life is a measure worth taking," Mr. Ardo said.
Smoking materials like cigarettes, cigars and pipes are the leading cause of fire deaths in the United States, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Roughly a quarter of such deaths in 2005, nearly 800, were attributed to them.
Fourteen states and Washington D.C. have implemented similar fire-safe cigarette laws and 22 have passed such legislation, according to the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes.
Christopher Wink is an intern with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents Association.
First Published July 4, 2008 12:22 pm
