Fire-safe cigarettes OK’d in Assembly

CARSON CITY-- The Assembly voted 33-9 Wednesday for a bill to require cigarette manufacturers to sell only "fire safe" cigarettes in Nevada starting in 2010.

"When you are not puffing on them, they go out," said Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, the sponsor of AB229.

These cigarettes could save the lives of careless people who fall asleep while smoking in a bed or in a chair, or stop a forest fire if someone threw one out of a car window while driving on the shores of Lake Tahoe, he added.

But Assemblyman James Settelmeyer, R-Gardnerville, said smoking safety is an issue of personal responsibility, not something for the state to dictate.

"If you threw one out of the window and it lands in cheat grass, it still can cause a fire," he said. "People come to Nevada to relax, to get away from laws in their own states."

Assemblyman Marcus Conklin, D-Las Vegas, agreed people do need to be responsible, but he added "their inability to do so costs other people their lives."

Lorraine Carli, a spokeswoman for the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes, said that 41 states have passed bills to require cigarette manufacturers to sell only fire-safe cigarettes in their states.

She said 700 to 900 people die each year in the United States from fires caused by cigarettes.

Fire-safe cigarettes are made with thicker paper, or two layers of paper, which makes it more difficult to burn if the cigarettes are left unattended, Carli added.

At times, however, even these cigarettes can cause fire, Carli said.

Carli added that cigarette manufactures do not charge more for fire-safe cigarettes, even though there is a slight increase in cost because of the thicker paper.

Some manufacturers, such as R.J. Reynolds, have announced that they will begin selling fire-safe cigarettes throughout the nation, she said.

All nine votes against the measure were cast by Republicans.

Five Republicans, including Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, R-Reno, and all 28 Democrats backed the bill.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.