Fire-Safe Cigarette Laws Don't Light Any Fires Under Tobacco Companies

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Most people don't know it, but cigarettes sold in some states are now more dangerous than ones sold in other states. Deaths and damage from cigarette-caused fires have motivated New York, Vermont, California and other states to enact laws in recent years requiring that only fire-safe cigarettes [5] be sold in their states. Fire-safe cigarettes are made to go out when left burning unattended, unlike standard cigarettes that keep burning even when not being smoked. Manufacturers add burn accelerants like sodium citrate [6] to cigarette paper to keep them lit when left in an ashtray, posing an increased fire hazard. A horrific cigarette-caused house fire that burned eight people to death in Baltimore, Maryland earlier this year has spurred calls by Baltimore public officials for a citywide fire-safe cigarette law. Interestingly, Maryland already has a fire-safe cigarette law, but it doesn't go into effect until July 1, 2008 -- too long to wait given the danger, according to Baltimore officials. In the meantime, cigarette makers are in no hurry to sell their fire-safe cigarettes anywhere they don't have to, leaving many citizens, including those in Baltimore, at a higher risk of cigarette-caused fires than people in states that already have self-extinguishing cigarette laws in effect.