Scarcnet News Summaries (Advocacy Institute)
Letter To The Editor Argues "Fire-Safe" Cigarettes Could Prevent More Tragedies
Length: pages
Abstract
In a letter to the editor, Russ Haven, legislative counsel for the New York Public Interest Group, writes: "The tragic deaths of three heroic firefighters (news article, Dec. 23) may have been avoidable if tobacco companies manufactured and distributed 'fire-safe' cigarettes. Cigarettes are the No. 1 cause of residential fire deaths in New York State and are responsible for more than 1,000 deaths nationwide each year. Just as the tobacco industry has fought to cover up evidence of the lethal, addictive qualities of its product and its marketing to children, it has successfully squelched legislation in Congress and the New York Legislature to regulate the fire-ignition propensity of cigarettes. . . . A study group created by Congress found it commercially and technically feasible to design cigarettes that are less likely to cause fires.New York could prevent hundreds of deaths and injuries and save millions in property taxes each year by allowing only fire-safe cigarettes to be marketed."
Source: Russ Haven, "Preventing The Next Tragic Fire," NEW YORK TIMES, December 28, 1998, p. A26.