Hawaii Cigarettes Could Become "Fire Safe"
It's not a new idea - twenty-two other states are already doing it. Requiring only "fire safe" Cigarettes to be sold in stores. Hawaii could be next.
It's not a new idea - twenty-two other states are already doing it. Requiring only "fire safe" Cigarettes to be sold in stores. Hawaii could be next. "We're looking at ways to improve Hawaii's ability to protect against brushfires and fires in general," says Rep. Ryan Yamane, (D) Mililani, Waipahu, Waipio. Lawmakers are pushing forward with a bill to ensure "fire safe" Cigarettes are the only kind of Cigarettes sold in Hawaii. Made with a special paper that's supposed to go out if it's not puffed on every few minutes. Watch the difference when we compare a regular cigarette on the left with a "fire safe" cigarette on the right. Within minutes the "fire safe" cigarette goes out and the regular one keeps on burning. "It will actually prevent people from those who fall asleep at home with the cigarette burning in an ashtray, when it reaches that band the cigarette is supposed to go out," says Yamane. A difference that could have saved the life of a Makiki woman who died when her apartment caught fire in '99. A blaze that started from a lit cigarette. The same start to last years 600-acre brushfire on Maui. "Tthese fire safe Cigarettes will prevent fires," says Rep. Cindy Evans, (D) North Kona, South Kohala. "The fire chief's totally believe it will save lives, it will prevent fires so I think we should support this." So far the bill has faced little opposition - even from cigarette manufacturers themselves. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company has said they already plan to convert all of their brands to "fire safe" Cigarettes by the end of next year. Hawaii is among fifteen other states considering this type of legisaltion. The bill now goes before the full House for their vote.