Fire safe cigarettes
Encyclopedia
Fire safe cigarettes are cigarettes that are designed to extinguish more quickly than standard cigarettes, if ignored, with the intention of preventing accidental fires. These products are also known as Lower Ignition Propensity (LIP), Reduced Fire Risk (RFR), self-extinguishing, fire-safe or Reduced Ignition Propensity (RIP) cigarettes. In the United States, "FSC" above the barcode officially stands for Fire Standards Compliant (FSC).
Fire safe cigarettes are produced by adding two bands or "speed bumps" to the cigarette paper during manufacture in order to slow the burn rate at the bands. Because this process decreases the burn rate and does not prevent unattended cigarettes from igniting nearby materials or tinder
, the term "fire-safe" has been called a misnomer
which could lead smokers to believe that these cigarettes are less likely to cause fires than standard cigarettes.
Many materials can be used to make the bands in the paper, including cellulosic or other polymeric materials. Different companies use different materials (including thicker bands of paper) for the ‘speed bumps’ in order to comply with regulations. Most commercial cigarette papers in fact use cellulosic and alginate bands; however many patents have been registered in the literature in relation to materials that could be used to make the bands, including EVA polymer ethylene vinyl acetate. When burned, the polymer of EVA becomes unstable, and the health risks of inhalation are not known. EVA and PVA polyvinyl acetate polymer adhesives have been used by the tobacco industry for many years, and are the industry standards.
A similar quantity of PVA polymer is required to glue the paper seam in a fire safe cigarette as in a standard cigarette.
EVA polymer must not be confused with the EVA monomer, which is a reactive species with some toxic properties.
(PM) now actively supports legislation. Philip Morris uses cigarette paper technology known as "banded cigarette paper" to comply with the performance standard in the FSC laws. This is created by applying bands to the cigarette paper using ingredients already used in non-FSCs. Its FSCs are labeled with the term “FSC” on the pack above the UPC
. The company has reported that the widely-used adhesive polymers EVA and PVA are used as side-seam adhesives in its cigarettes. Philip Morris USA does not distinguish levels of use between regular and fire-safe cigarettes. However, the amounts stated do not exceed 0.6% combined.
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.
Some consumers in the United States claim they have found a noticeable difference in the taste of FSC cigarettes from non-FSC cigarettes, comparing it to a copper or metallic taste. Other symptoms reported include an itchy rash, (allergic reaction), severe headache, vomiting, diarrhea, mouth sores, and nose bleeds. There has been a rise in people rolling their own cigarettes instead of continuing to smoke FSC and there have also been petitions regarding FSC. One current petition has been signed by over 27,000 people that attest to the negatives of FSC cigarettes.
Currently there are no findings published on the long term health effects on humans of inhaling EVA co-polymers. Results of tests conducted on rodents show the risks associated with 'Ethylene Vinyl Acetate copolymer emulsion based adhesive' include triggering the cellular proliferation necessary for tumor development.
It should also be duly noted that burning any organic material without sufficient oxygen increases the production of carbon monoxide. So, whether or not the additional added chemicals have any direct impact on long-term health, repeatedly inhaling the fumes of an oxygen-starved ember greatly increases long-term carbon monoxide exposure. Many of the symptoms reported by smokers are (coincidentally, or not) known side-effects of carbon monoxide exposure.
(formerly, the American Society for Testing & Materials). The E2187 standard is cited in U.S. state legislation and is the basis for the fire-safe cigarette law in effect in Canada. It is being considered for legislation in other countries.
, caught the attention of U.S. Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers
(D
-MA
); she called for the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) to develop technology for "self-snubbing" cigarettes. The Boston Herald American covered the story on 31 March 1932, noting that after three years of research the NBS had developed a “self-snubbing” cigarette and had suggested that cigarette manufacturers “take up the idea.” None did.
In 1973 the United States Congress established the Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) to protect the public from hazardous products. Congress excluded tobacco
products from its jurisdiction while assigning it responsibility for flammable fabrics. The CPSC regulated the flammability of mattresses and worked with furniture manufacturers to establish voluntary flammability standards for upholstered furniture, although more recently those standards have come to be considered mandatory.
In 1978 Andrew McGuire, a burn survivor, activist and winner of a 1985 MacArthur Fellowship
for his work on the flammability of children's sleepwear, started a grassroots
campaign to prevent house fire deaths by changing the cigarette. McGuire secured funding for an investigation into cigarettes and fires which became Cigarettes and Sofas: How the Tobacco Lobby Keeps the Home Fires Burning. Massachusetts
congressman Joe Moakley
introduced federal FSC legislation in the autumn of 1979 after a cigarette fire in his district killed a family of seven; California
senator Alan Cranston
authored a matching Senate bill.
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 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. 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. The resulting study, while contentious, laid the groundwork for a flammability test method for cigarettes. 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.
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 the NIST test. 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 http://www.firesafecigarettes.org/ 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 toddler severely burned in car fire allegedly caused by a cigarette.
In November 2008, Citizens Against Fire-Safe Cigarettes started an online petition, citing many of the known risks of these cigarettes and advocating individual responsibility in preference to federal regulation.
became the first country to implement a nationwide cigarette fire safety standard. The law requires that all cigarettes manufactured in or imported into Canada must burn their full length no more than 25% of the time when tested using ASTM International method E2187-04: Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes. The law is based on the New York State legislation. Each year in Canada, fires started by smokers' materials kill approximately 70 people and cause 300 injuries, according to a study conducted by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs.
proposal which would require the tobacco industry to use fire-retardant paper in all cigarettes. The European Committee for Standardization has said that these types of products would be universally available. In November 2010, the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) Committee of the European Commission agreed the standard and reached the consensus that enforcement of the standard (including at the point of sale to consumers) should start “about 12 months from its publication by CEN” – this would be around 17 November 2011. This start date for enforcement will be marked by the publication of reference to the standard in the Official Journal of the European Union.
In the UK a proposal to ban the "old style" cigarettes in order to implement a fire-safe alternative was dropped as it will be encompassed within the EU directive.
West of Scotland MSP
Stewart Maxwell
has been a long-time advocate of ‘fire-safer cigarettes’ and has called for Scotland to take a lead in developing a European standard. Maxwell has consistently called on the Scottish Government to use its influence to pressure the UK Government to ensure the introduction of ‘fire safer cigarettes’ as soon as possible.
, around 14 people are claimed to die annually from cigarette related fires. The government has accepted the proposal for FSCs and is in the process of implementing regulations. Cigarette companies were required to change their products to ensure that cigarettes self-extinguish more readily before the regulations came into effect in March 2010.
Fire safe cigarettes are produced by adding two bands or "speed bumps" to the cigarette paper during manufacture in order to slow the burn rate at the bands. Because this process decreases the burn rate and does not prevent unattended cigarettes from igniting nearby materials or tinder
Tinder
Tinder is easily combustible material used to ignite fires by rudimentary methods. A small fire consisting of tinder is then used to ignite kindling. Anything that can be ignited by a match can be considered tinder; or by more rigorous definition, anything that begins to glow under a shower of...
, the term "fire-safe" has been called a misnomer
Misnomer
A misnomer is a term which suggests an interpretation that is known to be untrue. Such incorrect terms sometimes derive their names because of the form, action, or origin of the subject becoming named popularly or widely referenced—long before their true natures were known.- Sources of misnomers...
which could lead smokers to believe that these cigarettes are less likely to cause fires than standard cigarettes.
Many materials can be used to make the bands in the paper, including cellulosic or other polymeric materials. Different companies use different materials (including thicker bands of paper) for the ‘speed bumps’ in order to comply with regulations. Most commercial cigarette papers in fact use cellulosic and alginate bands; however many patents have been registered in the literature in relation to materials that could be used to make the bands, including EVA polymer ethylene vinyl acetate. When burned, the polymer of EVA becomes unstable, and the health risks of inhalation are not known. EVA and PVA polyvinyl acetate polymer adhesives have been used by the tobacco industry for many years, and are the industry standards.
A similar quantity of PVA polymer is required to glue the paper seam in a fire safe cigarette as in a standard cigarette.
EVA polymer must not be confused with the EVA monomer, which is a reactive species with some toxic properties.
Responses from tobacco companies
Philip Morris USAPhilip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
(PM) now actively supports legislation. Philip Morris uses cigarette paper technology known as "banded cigarette paper" to comply with the performance standard in the FSC laws. This is created by applying bands to the cigarette paper using ingredients already used in non-FSCs. Its FSCs are labeled with the term “FSC” on the pack above the UPC
Universal Product Code
The Universal Product Code is a barcode symbology , that is widely used in North America, and in countries including the UK, Australia, and New Zealand for tracking trade items in stores. Its most common form, the UPC-A, consists of 12 numerical digits, which are uniquely assigned to each trade item...
. The company has reported that the widely-used adhesive polymers EVA and PVA are used as side-seam adhesives in its cigarettes. Philip Morris USA does not distinguish levels of use between regular and fire-safe cigarettes. However, the amounts stated do not exceed 0.6% combined.
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.
Response from consumers
Some consumers in the United States claim they have found a noticeable difference in the taste of FSC cigarettes from non-FSC cigarettes, comparing it to a copper or metallic taste. Other symptoms reported include an itchy rash, (allergic reaction), severe headache, vomiting, diarrhea, mouth sores, and nose bleeds. There has been a rise in people rolling their own cigarettes instead of continuing to smoke FSC and there have also been petitions regarding FSC. One current petition has been signed by over 27,000 people that attest to the negatives of FSC cigarettes.
Currently there are no findings published on the long term health effects on humans of inhaling EVA co-polymers. Results of tests conducted on rodents show the risks associated with 'Ethylene Vinyl Acetate copolymer emulsion based adhesive' include triggering the cellular proliferation necessary for tumor development.
It should also be duly noted that burning any organic material without sufficient oxygen increases the production of carbon monoxide. So, whether or not the additional added chemicals have any direct impact on long-term health, repeatedly inhaling the fumes of an oxygen-starved ember greatly increases long-term carbon monoxide exposure. Many of the symptoms reported by smokers are (coincidentally, or not) known side-effects of carbon monoxide exposure.
Response from media
Rebecca Brooks from the Huffington Post, an American news website, wrote an article on 31 March 2010 titled 'Fire Safe Cigarette Laws: More Harm than Good'. The article asks: "When is it justifiable to penalize many to possibly save a few? Cooking-related fires are the number one cause of home fires. Should fire retardants be put in vegetable oil? People probably shouldn't eat fried food anyway; maybe some would quit. Irresponsible drivers kill innocent people. Should cars be banned?" The matrix of the article was this idea, that the potential harm from more chemicals in cigarettes injuring many was not worth the few accidental fires it may or may not stop.United States
As of January 1, 2010, the fire-safe cigarette law was in effect in 43 states. It has been signed into law and will become effective in all states and the District of Columbia by 2012. State laws generally contain provisions permitting the sale of non-FSCs that have been tax-stamped by wholesalers and retailers in the state prior to the effective date of the state’s FSC law. The laws require cigarettes to exhibit a greater likelihood of self-extinguishing using a prescribed laboratory test method, E2187, developed by ASTM InternationalASTM International
ASTM International, known until 2001 as the American Society for Testing and Materials , is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services...
(formerly, the American Society for Testing & Materials). The E2187 standard is cited in U.S. state legislation and is the basis for the fire-safe cigarette law in effect in Canada. It is being considered for legislation in other countries.
History
In 1929, a cigarette-ignited fire in Lowell, MassachusettsLowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
, caught the attention of U.S. Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers
Edith Nourse Rogers
Edith Nourse Rogers was an American social welfare volunteer and politician who was one of the first women to serve in the United States Congress. She was the first woman elected to congress from Massachusetts...
(D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-MA
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
); she called for the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) to develop technology for "self-snubbing" cigarettes. The Boston Herald American covered the story on 31 March 1932, noting that after three years of research the NBS had developed a “self-snubbing” cigarette and had suggested that cigarette manufacturers “take up the idea.” None did.
In 1973 the United States Congress established the Consumer Product Safety Commission
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency of the United States government created in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products." The CPSC is an independent agency that does...
(CPSC) to protect the public from hazardous products. Congress excluded tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
products from its jurisdiction while assigning it responsibility for flammable fabrics. The CPSC regulated the flammability of mattresses and worked with furniture manufacturers to establish voluntary flammability standards for upholstered furniture, although more recently those standards have come to be considered mandatory.
In 1978 Andrew McGuire, a burn survivor, activist and winner of a 1985 MacArthur Fellowship
MacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
for his work on the flammability of children's sleepwear, started a grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
campaign to prevent house fire deaths by changing the cigarette. McGuire secured funding for an investigation into cigarettes and fires which became Cigarettes and Sofas: How the Tobacco Lobby Keeps the Home Fires Burning. Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
congressman Joe Moakley
Joe Moakley
John Joseph "Joe" Moakley was a Democratic congressman from the Ninth District of Massachusetts, a seat held two years earlier by Speaker John William McCormack. Moakley was the last chairman of the U.S...
introduced federal FSC legislation in the autumn of 1979 after a cigarette fire in his district killed a family of seven; California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
senator Alan Cranston
Alan Cranston
Alan MacGregor Cranston was an American journalist and Democratic Senator from California.-Education:Cranston earned his high school diploma from the old Mountain View High School, where among other things, he was a track star...
authored a matching Senate bill.
The US Tobacco Institute
Tobacco Institute
The Tobacco Institute, Inc. was a United States tobacco industry trade group, founded in 1958 by the American tobacco industry.It was dissolved in 1998 as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.-Founding:...
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 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. 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. The resulting study, while contentious, laid the groundwork for a flammability test method for cigarettes. Federal efforts to implement a standard stalled, as the Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
administrations preferred free markets to regulation. The grassroots campaign focused on state efforts. McGuire continued to publish progress reports.
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 the NIST test. By spring 2006 four more states had passed laws modeled on New York's: Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. McGuire published a campaign update. The National Fire Protection Association
National Fire Protection Association
The National Fire Protection Association is a United States trade association that creates and maintains private, copywrited, standards and codes for usage and adoption by local governments...
decided to fund the Fire Safe Cigarette Coalition http://www.firesafecigarettes.org/ 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 toddler severely burned in car fire allegedly caused by a cigarette.
In November 2008, Citizens Against Fire-Safe Cigarettes started an online petition, citing many of the known risks of these cigarettes and advocating individual responsibility in preference to federal regulation.
Canada
On October 1, 2005, CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
became the first country to implement a nationwide cigarette fire safety standard. The law requires that all cigarettes manufactured in or imported into Canada must burn their full length no more than 25% of the time when tested using ASTM International method E2187-04: Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes. The law is based on the New York State legislation. Each year in Canada, fires started by smokers' materials kill approximately 70 people and cause 300 injuries, according to a study conducted by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs.
Europe
On November 30, 2007, 27 EU states approved a European CommissionEuropean Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
proposal which would require the tobacco industry to use fire-retardant paper in all cigarettes. The European Committee for Standardization has said that these types of products would be universally available. In November 2010, the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) Committee of the European Commission agreed the standard and reached the consensus that enforcement of the standard (including at the point of sale to consumers) should start “about 12 months from its publication by CEN” – this would be around 17 November 2011. This start date for enforcement will be marked by the publication of reference to the standard in the Official Journal of the European Union.
In the UK a proposal to ban the "old style" cigarettes in order to implement a fire-safe alternative was dropped as it will be encompassed within the EU directive.
West of Scotland MSP
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
Stewart Maxwell
Stewart Maxwell
Stewart Maxwell was the Minister for Communities and Sport from 2007–2009 and Member of the Scottish Parliament for the West of Scotland, being elected as a Scottish National Party , Additional Members System member at the 2003 election. Maxwell attended before graduating from Glasgow College of...
has been a long-time advocate of ‘fire-safer cigarettes’ and has called for Scotland to take a lead in developing a European standard. Maxwell has consistently called on the Scottish Government to use its influence to pressure the UK Government to ensure the introduction of ‘fire safer cigarettes’ as soon as possible.
Australia
In AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, around 14 people are claimed to die annually from cigarette related fires. The government has accepted the proposal for FSCs and is in the process of implementing regulations. Cigarette companies were required to change their products to ensure that cigarettes self-extinguish more readily before the regulations came into effect in March 2010.