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Cigarettes are the #1 cause of fire death in the U.S.  Cigarette-caused fires often kill more than just the smoker.  They kill innocent people too.  A Tufts university student recently died in a dorm fire caused by cigarettes, and a baby recently died in an apartment fire caused by cigarettes.  Cigarette-caused fires have also taken adult lives in discos, nursing homes, hotels, etc.  Virtually every day, cigarette-caused fires kill someone.

 

A few years ago, New York State passed a law requiring all cigarettes sold in the state of New York to be "fire-safe" or "low-ignition."  New York gave cigarette manufacturers two years (until July 2003) to comply.  Fire-safe cigarettes automatically go out when they are not being smoked, so a cigarette left by a smoker who falls asleep in bed would go out, instead of causing a fire.  Philip Morris hates this law because it reduces the number of cigarettes sold.  Instead of burning to the end, fire-safe cigarettes go out and can be re-lit by the smoker.  The smoker need not buy new cigarettes.  He/She can simply re-light old ones.

 

If Philip Morris sells fire-safe cigarettes in New York, it cannot justify selling other cigarettes in the rest of the country.  If it does, people who die in cigarette-caused fires in other states will sue, and Philip Morris will have no excuse.

 

Consequently, Philip Morris is lobbying hard to prevent New York from implementing its law.  Last week, the NY Daily News wrote that the Pataki administration is proposing legislation to delay the start date.  A tobacco lobbyist, who did not want his name used, said the administration is concerned that the regulations could slow cigarette sales, hurting tax revenue.

A day later, the Associated Press claimed a mistake had been made: "The Pataki administration said the budget contained an erroneous reference to a proposed two-year delay in requiring that "low ignition" cigarettes be sold in New York."

 

The only thing we know for sure at this time is that the tobacco cartel is lobbying hard to prevent fire-safe cigarettes from becoming a reality.  As usual, the cartel cares more about selling cigarettes than preventing death. 

 

If you would like to send an ez-letter to Governor Pataki in support of fire-safe cigarettes, go to www.smokefree.org/fire