For an update on the Fire Safe Cigarette Issue go to the 

Fire Safe Cigarette Website

Cigarette-ignited fires are a leading cause of fire deaths in the United States. The Trauma Foundation has led a twenty-year effort to reduce cigarette-ignited fires by advocating for fire safety standards for cigarettes. In 2003, a major victory was won in Canada's when the Canadian Parliament passed a fire-safe cigarette law.  In the U.S. in 2000, two groundbreaking events occurred in this area -- New York State passed the nation's first law requiring the establishment of a fire safety standard for cigarettes sold in the state, and Philip Morris began mass production of a commercial cigarette (its Merit brand) that is less likely than conventional cigarettes to ignite a fire. Philip Morris' PaperSelect technology uses "speed bumps" in the cigarette's paper, which causes an unattended cigarette to go out. The cigarette's reduced ignition propensity was confirmed in testing by the National Institute on Standards and Technology.

Former Trauma Foundation Home Page Stories on Fire-safe Cigarettes

• Canada's Parliament Passes Fire-Safe Cigarette Legisltaion
• Historic Settlement by Philip Morris for Child's Injuries Caused by a Smoldering Cigarette
• Update on the Fire-Safe Cigarette: How New York State Legislation will lead to the Availability of Fire-Safe Cigarettes across the Nation
• Sleeping Death
• Burning Down the House: Cigarette Manufacturers Choose Profits Over Safety

Last modified: Monday, 16-Jan-2006 14:52:23 EST