Legislation Creates Fire-Safe Standards for Cigarettes

We have all heard stories of a fire caused by a lit cigarette being left in an ash tray, or a burning cigarette falling out of someone’s hand and setting fire to carpet or a bed. Any house fire that causes a loss of life is tragic, but house fires that are caused by careless smoking are even worse because these kinds of fires are completely preventable. The recent Senate passage of my bills requiring that only slow-burning cigarettes be sold in Michigan is an important step toward preventing these fires.

Slow-burn cigarettes are designed to not remain ignited if a person is not actually smoking the cigarette. Manufacturers are now able to make these cigarettes, and 37 states already have fire-safe tobacco laws. The United States Fire Administration also encourages smokers to use slow-burn cigarettes.

Senate Bills 1620 and 1621 would require testing for fire-safety standards in tobacco products sold here in Michigan. Products that meet these standards would then be designated as fire-safe. If adopted, only fire-safe slow-burn cigarettes could be sold in Michigan. Another important fire prevention strategy is education. My legislation uses any fines collected from the sales of cigarettes that do not meet the fire-safe standards to go directly to the fire safety and prevention programs. The money collected would be deposited into the Cigarette Fire Safety Standard and Firefighter Protection Act Fund that would be created in the Michigan Department of Treasury. To show that we are serious about fire safety, manufacturers and sellers who sell cigarettes in violation of the fire-safe requirement could be fined as much as $100 per pack of cigarettes.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, Michigan averages 14.1 deaths due to fires for every million citizens. That is higher than the national fire death rate of 12.3 deaths per million of the population. Nationally, the administration also says that at least 1,000 smokers and non-smokers die every year in home fires caused by cigarettes and other smoking materials. Of that number, one in four who die in home fires are not the smoker whose cigarette caused the fire. And, tragically, one third of those who die are children.

If you smoke in your home, the U.S. Fire Safety Administration recommends that you take these precautions: If you smoke, smoke outside; wherever you smoke, use deep sturdy ash trays; make sure cigarettes and ashes are out; check for cigarette butts; never smoke in a home where oxygen is used; and always be alert. (Taken from USFA Smoking & Home Fires: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/campaigns/smoking/smoker/index.shtm.)

With the holiday season upon us, I encourage everyone to be vigilant when people are smoking in your homes. Holiday decorations and Christmas trees are highly flammable, and a fire can happen in a matter of minutes if people are not extremely careful. If you do smoke, please take extra precautions to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

The Michigan House of Representatives recently voted both Senate Bills 1620 and 1621 out of committee and to the House floor. There is a good chance that these bills will still be voted into law before the end of this session. If that happens, then we will be able to start the New Year with new regulations that will help keep us all safer in our homes.