Cigarette Safety Act of 1984
PL 98-567 (H.R.1880), enacted 10/30/1984

PUBLIC LAW 98-567—OCT. 30, 1984 
STAT. 2925 
Public Law 98-567 
98th Congress 
An Act 
To establish an interagency committee and a technical study group on cigarette 
safety. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled. That this Act may 
be cited as the "Cigarette Safety Act of 1984". 
SEC. 2. (a) There is estabUshed the Interagency Committee on 
Cigarette and Little Cigar Fire Safety (hereinafter in this Act 
referred to as the "Interagency Committee") which shall consist o
f
— 
(1) the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commis-
sion, who shall be the Chairman of the Interagency Committee; 
(2) the United States Fire Administrator in the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency, who shall be the Vice Chairman of 
the Interagency Committee; and 
(3) the Assistant Secretary of Health in the Department of 
Health and Human Services. 
(b) The Interagency Committee shall direct, oversee, and review 
the work of the Technical Study Group on Cigarette and Little Cigar 
Fire Safety (established under section 3) conducted under section 4 
and shall make such policy recommendations to the Congress as it 
deems appropriate. The Interagency Committee may retain and 
contract with such consultants as it deems necessary to assist the 
Study Group in carrying out its functions under section 4. The 
Interagency Committee may request the head of any Federal depart-
ment or agency to detail any of the personnel of the department or 
agency to assist the Interagency Committee or the Study Group in 
carrying out its responsibilities. The authority of the Interagency 
Committee to enter into contracts shall be effective for any fiscal 
year only to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in 
advance by appropriation Acts. 
(c) For the purpose of carrying out section 4, the Interagency 
Committee or the Study Group, with the advice and consent of the 
Interagency Committee, may hold such hearings, sit and act at such 
times and places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence, as 
the 
Interagency 
Committee 
or 
the 
Study 
Group 
considers 
appropriate. 
SEC. 3. (a) There is established the Technical Study Group on 
Cigarette and Little Cigar Fire Safety (hereinafter in this Act 
referred to as the "Study Group") which shall consist of— 
(1) one scientific or technical representative each from the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Center for Fire Re-
search of the National Bureau of Standards, the National 
Cancer Institute, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Fed-
eral Emergency Management Agency, the appointment of 
whom shall be made by the heads of those agencies; 
(2) four scientific or technical representatives appointed by 
the Chairman of the Interagency Committee, by and with the 
Oct. 30, 1984 
[H.R. 1880] 
Cigarette 
Safety Act 
of 1984. 
15 u s e 2054 
note. 
Establishment. 
15 u s e 2054 
note. 
Contracts with 
U.S. 
Establishment. 
15 u s e 2054 
note. 
98 STAT. 2926 
PUBLIC LAW 98-567—OCT. 30, 1984 
Study. 
15 u s e 2054 
note. 
Reports. 
15 u s e 2054 
note. 
Termination. 
advice and consent of the Interagency Committee, from a list of 
individuals submitted by the Tobacco Institute; 
(3) two scientific or technical representatives appointed by the 
Chairman of the Interagency Committee, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Interagency Committee, who are 
selected from lists of individuals submitted by the following 
organizations: the American Burn Association, the American 
Public 
Health 
Association, 
and 
the 
American 
Medical 
Association; 
(4) two scientific or technical representatives appointed by the 
Chairman of the Interagency Committee, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Interagency Committee, who are 
selected from lists of individuals submitted by the following 
organizations: the National Fire Protection Association, the 
International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Asso-
ciation of Fire Fighters, the International Society of Fire Serv-
ice Instructors, and the National Volunteer Fire Council; and 
(5) one scientific or technical representative appointed by the 
Chairman of the Interagency Committee, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Interagency Committee, from lists of 
individuals submitted by the Business and Institutional Furni-
ture Manufacturers Association and one scientific or technical 
representative appointed by the Chairman, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Interagency Committee, from lists of 
individuals submitted by the American Furniture Manufactur-
ers Association. 
(b) The persons appointed to serve on the Study Group may 
designate, with the advice and consent of the Interagency Commit-
tee, from among their number such persons to serve as team 
leaders, coordinators, or chairpersons as they deem necessary or 
appropriate to carry out the Study Group's functions 
under 
section 4. 
SEC. 4. The Study Group shall undertake, subject to oversight and 
review by the Interagency Committee, such studies and other activi-
ties as it considers necessary and appropriate to determine the 
technical and commercial feasibility, economic impact, and other 
consequences of developing cigarettes and little cigars that will have 
a minimum propensity to ignite upholstered furniture or mat-
tresses. Such activities include identification of the different physi-
cal characteristics of cigarettes and little cigars which have an 
impact on the ignition of upholstered furniture and mattresses, an 
analysis of the feasibility of altering any pertinent characteristics to 
reduce ignition propensity, and an analysis of the possible costs and 
benefits, both to the industry and the public, associated with any 
such product modification. 
SEC. 5. The Interagency Committee shall submit one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act a status report to the Senate and the 
House of Representatives describing the activities undertaken under 
section 4 during the preceding year. The Interagency Committee 
shall submit a final technical report, prepared by the Study Group, 
to the Senate and the House of Representatives not later than thirty 
months after the date of enactment of this Act. The Interagency 
Committee shall provide to the Congress, within sixty days after the 
submission of the final technical report, any policy recommenda-
tions the Interagency Committee deems appropriate. The Inter-
agency Committee and the Study Group shall terminate one month 
PUBLIC LAW 98-567—OCT. 30, 1984 
STAT. 2927 
after submission of the policy recommendations prescribed by this 
section. 
SEC. 6. (a) Any information provided to the Interagency Commit-
tee or to the Study Group under section 4 which is designated as 
trade secret or confidential information shall be treated as trade 
secret or confidential information subject to section 552(b)(4) of title 
5, United States Code, and section 1905 of title 18, United States 
Code, and shall not be revealed, except as provided under subsection 
O
t
>
)
. No member of the Study Group or Interagency Committee, and 
no person assigned to or consulting with the Study Group, shall 
disclose any such information to any person who is not a member of, 
assigned to, or consulting with, the Study Group or Interagency 
Committee unless the person submitting such information specifi-
cally and in writing authorizes such disclosure. 
Ot)) Subsection (a) does not authorize the withholding of any infor-
mation from any duly authorized subcommittee or committee of the 
Congress, except that if a subcommittee or committee of the Con-
gress requests the Interagency Committee to provide such informa-
tion, the Chairman of the Interagency Committee shall notify the 
person who provided the information of such a request in writing. 
(c) The Interagency Committee shall, on the vote of a majority of 
its members, adopt reasonable procedures to protect the confiden-
tiality of trade secret and confidential information, as defined in 
this section. 
SEC. 7. As used in this Act, the terms "cigarettes" and "little 
cigars" have the meanings given such terms by section 3 of the 
Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act. 
Confidentiality. 
15 u s e 2054 
note. 
15 u s e 2054 
note. 
Approved October 30, 1984. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1880 (S. 1935): 
HOUSE REPORT No. 98-917 (eomm. on Energy and eommerce). 
SENATE REPORT No. 98-597 accompanying S. 1935 (Oomm. on Governmental 
Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 130 (1984): 
Aug. 6, considered and passed House. 
Sept. 21, considered and passed Senate, amended, in lieu of S. 1935. 
Oct. 1, House concurred in Senate amendment with an amendment. 
Oct. 4, Senate concurred in House amendment.