New 'Fire-Safe' Cigarettes To Be Sold In El Paso - News Story - KFOX El Paso

New 'Fire-Safe' Cigarettes To Be Sold In El Paso - News Story - KFOX El Paso

EL PASO, Texas -- A new law requiring cigarettes sold in Texas be "fire-safe" just went into effect. The goal is to prevent house fires. The so-called "fire-safe" cigarettes are marked FSC above the bar code.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed the fire-safe cigarette legislation on June 15, 2007; retailers have until Jan. 1, 2010, to to sell off their inventory and come into compliance.

"Your Nat Sherman cigarettes have the low intensity paper in them," said Brad Maynerd as he picked up a pack off his store shelf.

Kern Place Cigars is one of a few retailers in El Paso already selling "fire-safe" cigarettes.

"It's just a different paper that makes the cigarette burn slower, and it goes out," said Maynerd.

The new "fire-safe" cigarettes are designed to self-extinguish if they're dropped or left unattended, and they're less likely to ignite clothing, bedding or other material.

The new law comes as a relief for firefighters. "Cigarette fires are the leading cause of deaths in residential fires. With this new law it's hopefully going to cut down on those fires tremendously," said Lt. Mario Hernandez, spokesman for the El Paso Fire Department.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, about 1,000 people are killed in smoking-related house fires.

On Oct. 23, 2007, a fire at 1509 Honeysuckle Drive killed an 83-year-old man who didn't make it out. Fire investigators said the fire started because of smoker's carelessness. Another fire at 15449 Ryan Wesley St. proved to be deadly in 2007, and investigators also blamed an unattended cigarette.

Statistics from USFA show one in four people killed in home fires are not the smoker whose cigarette caused the fire. Thirty-four percent were children of smokers, while 25 percent were neighbors or firefighters trying to save them.

KFOX wanted to see if a smoker would notice the difference in the "fire-safe" cigarette. Isaac Vasquez, who normally smokes Marlboro Lights, gave it a try.

"It tastes good. It's really smooth. When you're not puffing it, there's less smoke," said Vasquez.

"It's taking a while (to burn)," he said as he kept smoking. The "fire-safe" cigarette didn't stop burning while Vasquez kept puffing, but had he stopped, it might have.

"That's probably a plus for someone who smokes inside or in bed, but I don't do that. As far as it going out by itself, that might raise a concern. It's not that big of a deal, but at the same time you like the cigarette, so you want it to stay on," said Vasquez.

By the end of 2009, 14 states will join the 18 that already require vendors to purchase and sell only the "fire-safe" cigarettes. Those states include: Delaware, Iowa, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Washington and Wisconsin. Six more states are set to enact laws in 2010 and seven others have proposals in the works.