Should Cigarettes Be Fire-Safe?

Excerpted from Smokefree.net

Each year, cigarette-caused fires kill more than 1,000 civilians, critically injure more than 3,000 (including many firefighters), and cost victims more than $400 million in direct property damage, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Government requires mattresses, couches, curtains, and carpeting to be fire-safe.  In fact, government requires almost everything to be fire-safe, except for the product that causes most fatal fires.  It's like the Dave Barry cartoon where two tobacco cartel scientists are watching laboratory rats.  One scientist says to the other, "The rats have rearranged their food pellets to spell, 'Cigarettes Cause Cancer.'  What do you think that could mean?"  The other scientist replies, "I don't know.  I guess we'll have to study it some more."

New York State passed fire-safe cigarette legislation (which requires cigarettes to go out when left un-puffed) over two years ago.  To implement the legislation, however, Secretary of State Randy Daniels must issue fire-safe cigarette standards.  A spokesman for Mr. Daniels says he is committed to issuing standards, but he wants to make sure he gets them right.  How hard can it be?  One cigarette brand (Merit) currently meets fire-safe standards. 

Although the law and the standards would only apply to cigarettes sold in New York, tobacco manufacturers would likely make them for all states.  After all, how could they explain to juries in burn victim lawsuits why they sell fire-safe cigarettes in one state but not another? 

Another reason Putters From Heaven is currently building the web site LitterButts.com

To read hundreds of recent news stories about cigarette-caused fires, click here.