CALIFORNIA SMOKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES MAY SOMEDAY BE GIVEN PROTECTION
AGAINST FIRES THAT ARE CAUSED BY CIGARETTES.
For decades tobacco companies have been adding methyl alcohol to their cigarettes
to keep them burning even when they aren’t being smoked. Insurance companies
have long recognized that this practice causes many fires and many deaths.
Cigarettes are the leading cause of fatal house fires in the United States,
but unlike kitchen stoves, cigarette lighters and electrical appliances,
which can also cause fires, cigarettes are not regulated as consumer products.
For decades tobacco companies have resisted the pleas of insurance companies
to remove the methyl alcohol from their cigarettes, reduce their diameter
and the density of the tobacco and the porosity of the wrapper, all to make
them fire-safe.
Assembly member Carole Migden of San Francisco is introducing a bill requiring
all cigarettes sold in California to meet safety standards established by
the state Fire Marshal. The standards would require cigarettes to go out
if left unattended.
More than 100 Californians are killed or injured every year because of fires
started by cigarettes falling on mattresses, carpets and furniture. In August,
a cigarette caused a blaze that killed an 81-year old man and injured 14
others at a south of Market apartment complex.
It may sound strange to require a product people voluntarily ignite to be
"fire-safe". But lawmakers, federal regulators and tobacco companies have
been fighting over the issue since at least 1929. Andrew McGuire, executive
director of the Trauma Foundation says that the tobacco industry has resisted
efforts to produce a safer cigarette not only to increase the number of
cigarettes sold, but also because they fear a flood of liability lawsuits
from relatives of fire victims. "Especially if it comes out that the industry
could have made a more fire-safe cigarette."
On Migden’s bill, the industry is likely to argue that California cannot
regulate a product made outside of the state, like they can with cars emissions,
citing interstate commerce laws. Gary Auxer of the National Smokers Alliance
said, "It would be difficult for American consumers to accept a product that
went out in 30 seconds or whatever. (And) consumers are very loyal to the
taste of their cigarettes. If the process changes the taste, then that would
be a problem."
State Fire Marshal Ronny Coleman said that he couldn’t officially take
a position on Migden’s bill, but acknowledged that firefighters have
worked for several years to reduce the number of fire deaths from cigarettes.
California has some of the country’s highest standards requiring fire-safe
fabrics on furniture.
Others look at safer cigarettes as a safety issue for children. Kathy Dresslar,
a lobbyist with the Children’s Advocacy Institute, said children often
pick up burning cigarettes left in ashtrays when their parents leave the
room. "A smoldering cigarette stays lit until it’s completely
consumed....That’s how a lot of children die in homes where people smoke,"
Dressler said.
Adapted from SF Examiner article by Robert Salladay, Feb 19, 1998