Fire safe cigarettes are produced by adding two to three thin bands of less-porous cigarette paper along the length of the cigarette, creating a series of harder-to-burn “speed bumps”. As the cigarette burns down, it will tend to be extinguished at each of these points unless the user is periodically intensifying the flame by inhaling. Contrary to myth, FSC cigarettes use no more ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) adhesive than conventional cigarettes, and its use as an adhesive predates the introduction of FSC technology.  To forestall legislation mandating the inclusion of fire-safety features in cigarettes, the US Tobacco Institute financed a fire prevention education program in parallel with the campaign Fighting Fire with Firemen. Fortune, October 3, 1983 In 1984, the Cigarette Safety Act funded a three-year study National Bureau of Standards (later NIST) study on how cigarettes and furnishings ignited and remained lit. “This understanding of the physics of ignition enabled the NBS team to develop two test methods for the ignition strength of cigarettes, under the auspices of the CPSC. This reported to US Congress in 1987 that it was technically feasible and maybe commercially feasible to make a cigarette that was less likely to start fires.Technical Study Group on Cigarette and Little Cigar Fire Safety. Toward a Less Fire-Prone Cigarette. Washington, DC: Consumer product Safety Commission, 1987 Legislative activity continued in the states while the federal government, cigarette companies, and advocates discussed next steps. McGuire and colleagues continued to inform advocates about cigarette fires and prevention strategies, legislation and liability. Grannis AB. The New York Cigarette Fire Safety Act. New York State Journal of Medicine. 1983;839130:1299DeFrancesco S, Teret S, McGuire A. Liability for Cigarette-related Fire Death and Injury. Trial Lawyer’s Quarterly. 1986; 17(4):9-15McGuire A. Fires, Cigarettes and Advocacy. Law, Medicine and Health Care. 1989: 17(1):73-77 A compromise led to the US Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990, which required additional NIST research on the interaction of burning cigarettes with soft furnishings, such as upholstered furniture and beds. The resulting study, while contentious, laid the groundwork for a flammability test method for cigarettes.Consumer Product Safety Commission  . Overview: Practicability of Developing a Performance Standard to Reduce Cigarette Ignition Propensity. August 1993 Federal efforts to implement a standard stalled, as the Reagan and Bush administrations preferred free markets to regulation. The grassroots campaign focused on state efforts. McGuire continued to publish progress reports.McGuire A.  "The Case of the Fire Safe Cigarette: the Synergism Between State and Federal Legislation," in Bergman A.B. (ed): Political Approaches to Injury Control at the State Level. University of Washington Press, Seattle/London, 1992, pp.79-87McGuire, A. , Daynard, R., "When Cigarettes Start Fires: Industry Liability," Trial Magazine, Vol. 28, No.11, Nov 1992, pp. 44-49 Based on the NIST research, ASTM International's Committee E05 on Fire Standards developed E 2187, a "Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes", which evaluates cigarette's capacity to set fire to bedding and upholstered furniture in 2002. In 2000, New York passed the first state law requiring the introduction of cigarettes that have a lower likelihood of starting a fire, with flammability evaluated by E 2187. By spring 2006, four more states had passed laws modeled on New York's: Vermont, New Hampshire, California, and Illinois. McGuire published a campaign update.  The National Fire Protection Association decided to fund the Fire Safe Cigarette Coalition to accelerate this grassroots movement. Since 1982, fifteen lawsuits have been filed regarding cigarette-ignited fire deaths and injuries. The first successful lawsuit resulted in a  settlement for a young child severely burned in a car fire allegedly caused by a cigarette. Baby-seat-injury. com Responses from tobacco companies In 2000 Philip Morris introduced the 'fire-safe' Merit cigarette, with two thicker paper bands to slow the burning. Later that year, the company received hundreds of complaints alleging that long, partly burned tobacco was falling off the tips of lit Merit cigarettes, burning skin and flammable items. An in-house scientist (Michael Lee Watkins) analyzed the data and concluded Merit to actually be a greater fire risk than conventional cigarettes. In early 2002 Watkins was fired, and Merit continued to be marketed. For concealing information about the fire hazard, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Philip Morris . In October 2007, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) said that by the end of 2009 it would only be selling FSCs in the United States .
Fire safe cigarettes are produced by adding two to three thin bands of less-porous cigarette paper along the length of the cigarette, creating a series of harder-to-burn “speed bumps”. As the cigarette burns down, it will tend to be extinguished at each of these points unless the user is periodically intensifying the flame by inhaling. Contrary to myth, FSC cigarettes use no more ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) adhesive than conventional cigarettes, and its use as an adhesive predates the introduction of FSC technology. "Myths versus realities". Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes. National Fire Protection Association To forestall legislation mandating the inclusion of fire-safety features in cigarettes, the US Tobacco Institute financed a fire prevention education program in parallel with the campaign Fighting Fire with Firemen. In 1984, the Cigarette Safety Act funded a three-year study National Bureau of Standards (later NIST) study on how cigarettes and furnishings ignited and remained lit. “This understanding of the physics of ignition enabled the NBS team to develop two test methods for the ignition strength of cigarettes, under the auspices of the CPSC. This reported to US Congress in 1987 that it was technically feasible and maybe commercially feasible to make a cigarette that was less likely to start fires.Technical Study Group on Cigarette and Little Cigar Fire Safety. Toward a Less Fire-Prone Cigarette. Washington, DC: Consumer product Safety Commission, 1987 Legislative activity continued in the states while the federal government, cigarette companies, and advocates discussed next steps. McGuire and colleagues continued to inform advocates about cigarette fires and prevention strategies, legislation and liability. A compromise led to the US Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990, which required additional NIST research on the interaction of burning cigarettes with soft furnishings, such as upholstered furniture and beds. The resulting study, while contentious, laid the groundwork for a flammability test method for cigarettes.Consumer Product Safety Commission (August 1993) . Overview: Practicability of Developing a Performance Standard to Reduce Cigarette Ignition Propensity. Federal efforts to implement a standard stalled, as the Reagan and Bush administrations preferred free markets to regulation. The grassroots campaign focused on state efforts. McGuire continued to publish progress reports.McGuire A. (1992) "The Case of the Fire Safe Cigarette: the Synergism Between State and Federal Legislation," in Bergman A.B. (ed): Political Approaches to Injury Control at the State Level. University of Washington Press, Seattle/London, pp. 79–87. Based on the NIST research, ASTM International's Committee E05 on Fire Standards developed E 2187, a "Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes", which evaluates cigarette's capacity to set fire to bedding and upholstered furniture in 2002. In 2000, New York passed the first state law requiring the introduction of cigarettes that have a lower likelihood of starting a fire, with flammability evaluated by E 2187. By spring 2006, four more states had passed laws modeled on New York's: Vermont, New Hampshire, California, and Illinois. McGuire published a campaign update. In 2006 The National Fire Protection Association decided to fund the Fire Safe Cigarette Coalition to accelerate this grassroots movement. Since 1982, multiple lawsuits have been filed regarding cigarette-ignited fire deaths and injuries. The first successful lawsuit resulted in a 2 million dollar settlement for a young child severely burned in a car fire allegedly caused by a cigarette. Levin, Myron (October 2, 2003) Tobacco Giant, in a Shift, Pays Victim. LA times Responses from tobacco companies In 2000 Philip Morris introduced the 'fire-safe' Merit cigarette, with two thicker paper bands to slow the burning. Later that year, the company received hundreds of complaints alleging that long, partly burned tobacco was falling off the tips of lit Merit cigarettes, burning skin and flammable items. An in-house scientist (Michael Lee Watkins) analyzed the data and concluded Merit to actually be a greater fire risk than conventional cigarettes. In early 2002 Watkins was fired, and Merit continued to be marketed. For concealing information about the fire hazard, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Philip Morris .
A
"Myths versus realities". Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes. National Fire Protection Association
D
Fortune, October 3, 1983
D
Grannis AB. The New York Cigarette Fire Safety Act. New York State Journal of Medicine. 1983;839130:1299DeFrancesco S, Teret S, McGuire A. Liability for Cigarette-related Fire Death and Injury. Trial Lawyer’s Quarterly. 1986; 17(4):9-15McGuire A. Fires, Cigarettes and Advocacy. Law, Medicine and Health Care. 1989: 17(1):73-77
A
(August 1993)
D
August 1993
A
(1992)
R
1992, pp.79-87McGuire, A. , Daynard, R., "When Cigarettes Start Fires: Industry Liability," Trial Magazine, Vol. 28, No.11, Nov 1992, pp. 44-49
pp. 79–87.
A
In 2006
R
fifteen
multiple
A
2 million dollar
R
Baby-seat-injury. com
Levin, Myron (October 2, 2003) Tobacco Giant, in a Shift, Pays Victim. LA times
D
. In October 2007, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) said that by the end of 2009 it would only be selling FSCs in the United States