Greetings my fellow minions, Lucifer Jones here, with part 2 of my FSC Cigarette series:
The following was taken from HERE: (The GREEN TEXT is from yours truly Lucifer Jones)
MYTH: There is no such thing as a cigarette that reduces the risk of fire.
FACT: Research by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), funded by the American Legacy Foundation, indicates several benefits of implementing the New York regulation. “Fire Safer” Cigarettes: The Effect of the New York State Cigarette Fire Safety Standard on Ignition Propensity, Smoke Toxicity and the Consumer Market” compared the physical properties of cigarettes sold in New York with cigarettes of the same brands sold in Massachusetts and California (before MA and CA implemented fire-safe cigarette laws). The report found that New York cigarettes were far less likely to exhibit full length burns (only 10 percent) than those of the other states (99.8 percent). The HSPH researchers found no valid reason why cigarette manufacturers should not sell lower ignition strength cigarettes nationwide. The Harvard study confirmed the 20-year-old conclusion of the Federal Technical Study Group on Cigarette and Little Cigar Fire Safety. This group, created by the Cigarette Fire Safety Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-567), concluded that it was technically feasible to develop cigarettes with a reduced propensity to ignite upholstered furniture and mattresses. As the Harvard study makes clear, the federal study was correct, and the tobacco industry can make reduced ignition strength cigarettes if it chooses to do so or is required to do so.
REALITY: BINGO! It’s A LIT OBJECT, NO MATTER WHAT IT COULD CAUSE A FIRE!
MYTH: Fire-safe cigarettes are more toxic.
FACT: There is no evidence that reduced ignition propensity cigarettes are any more harmful to health. A report by RJ Reynolds conducted in 1993 compared the tar per cigarette in prototype low-ignition propensity cigarettes. The report concludes: “Ames assay results were not higher for the prototype cigarettes than their respective controls, either on a revertant-per-mg-tar basis or a revertant-per-cigarette basis.”
The Harvard School of Public Health study also showed there were no substantial differences in toxicity when key indicators were measured for fire-safe cigarettes and their conventional counterparts. The report states, “The majority of smoke toxic compounds (14) tested were not different between New York and Massachusetts brands. Five compounds were slightly higher in New York brands. There is no evidence that these increases affect the already highly toxic nature of cigarette smoke.” The research found the majority of toxic compounds were no different between the smoke of the New York and Massachusetts brands that were tested. Five compounds were slightly higher, but no evidence exists that the small increases affect the already highly toxic nature of cigarette smoke. In addition, The New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC), which developed the New York State lower ignition strength cigarette regulation, consulted with the New York State Department of Health to consider whether cigarettes manufactured in accordance with the regulation may reasonably result in increased health risks to consumers. The Department of Health advised that cigarettes complying with the fire safety standards set forth in the regulation were not expected to significantly change the inherently high risks associated with cigarette smoking. (This determination was based upon the existing information available on banded cigarettes, the only technology known to OFPC at that time that could feasibly meet the performance standard).
REALITY: ALUMINUM, ETHYLENE VINYL ACETATE, AND OTHER NEW CHEMICHALS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THESE ‘SAFE CIGS’
MYTH: People will behave carelessly with fire-safe cigarettes.
FACT: Even tobacco industry documents show that people will remain careful with the new types. A 1991 report of focus groups prepared for RJ Reynolds on consumer behavior with fire-safe cigarettes concludes, “virtually all respondents said they would not alter their current smoking behavior.” It goes against common sense to believe that people who have never before been reckless about how they smoke will suddenly become reckless because of a change in what they smoke. The millions of smokers who would like to be safer from fire should be given the tools that exist to save lives.
REALITY: THAT REALLY ALL DEPENDS ON THE PERSON, I FEEL THE BULK OF THE MASSES WILL LAX WITH THEIR SMOKING CAUSE THEIR GOV. SAYS IT’S ‘FIRE SAFE’
MYTH: Fire-safe cigarettes won’t save a single life.
FACT: Dr. John R. Hall, Jr., of the NFPA Fire Analysis & Research division, estimates that up to 1,000 lives could have been saved each year across the nation if lower ignition strength cigarettes had been required in every state in the mid-1980s when the federal study was released. Today, best estimates are still that most fire deaths involving lighted tobacco products would be prevented by this legislation, which would mean many hundreds of lives saved every year. According to a September 21, 2005, ABC News/ Associated Press report, fewer people have died in smoking-related fires since New York became the first state to require that tobacco companies sell self-extinguishing cigarettes.
REALITY: BINGO…. IN FACT THEY WILL CAUSE MORE DEATHS! (RESEARCH THE NEW CHEMICALS THAT ARE IN THESE FSC SMOKES!) BYE BYE SMOKERS
MYTH: The cigarette industry doesn’t know how to make a fire-safe cigarette.
FACT: Chief John Mueller of the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control, who coordinated promulgation of New York’s rule, told the National Association of State Fire Marshals’ Science Advisory Committee that New York’s goal was to make cigarettes less likely to ignite upholstered furniture or mattresses. New York’s rule resulted in industry’s developing a technically and commercially practical method of designing cigarettes. This has been done, at least in some cases, by using banded paper that interrupts the burning of cigarettes when they are not being actively smoked. In addition, in October 2007, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company announced that it will manufacture all of its cigarette brands using the “fire-safe” technology by 2009.
REALITY: PLEASE REMEMBER IT’S SMOKE… IT’S BAD… THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SAFE SMOKE, AND IT’S ON FIRE…. THEREFORE IT’S DANGEROUS DUH!!
MYTH: There isn’t enough of the special paper to implement fire-safe cigarette laws in more than a few states.
FACT: The cigarette industry has already reworked its practices to produce the lower ignition strength cigarettes for states that have already passed fire-safe cigarette laws. Since the industry is already doing this, making the cigarettes for more states should be much easier.
REALITY: I ONLY WISH THAT WAS TRUE, IN REALITY SOMEONE WILL PRODUCE MORE, AND SELL MORE, AND THUS MAKE MORE MONEY, ALL WHILE KILLING THEIR CUSTOMERS.
MYTH: Alcohol and drug abuse are the real problems.
FACT: The mixing of drugs and alcohol with cigarette smoking increases the likelihood of a fatal fire. However, focusing only on behavioral issues and neglecting what can be done to make cigarettes less fire-prone is extremely dangerous. Personal responsibility may be an argument for the smoker who kills himself in one of these fires. But what about the innocent people – children, spouses, parents, visitors – who are killed in fires started by someone else’s careless behavior? According to NFPA, one in four victims is not the smoker whose cigarette ignited the fatal fire. They deserve to be protected, too. We cannot count on the war against drugs and alcohol to solve this problem. Changing human behavior is extremely difficult, but changing the cigarette to make it less likely to ignite a fire is something that cigarette manufacturers know how to do. Citizens in every state should be given the same opportunity to avoid being killed in a cigarette-ignited fire.
REALITY: MAYBE, BUT HALF ARE LEGAL, KILL MORE PEOPLE BUT DON’T WORRY, YOUR GOV WILL BY ADDING CYANIDE TO YOUR FAV BEER SOON JUST TO MAKE IT ‘SAFER’
MYTH: The lack of fire sprinklers is the real problem.
FACT: Fire sprinklers in every American home would definitely improve overall fire safety, and is a good way to ensure redundancy of safety measures. However, fire sprinklers extinguish fires once they occur, which means that we have failed to prevent the fire. Smoke alarms are also necessary in homes to alert people when fires do occur, but they do nothing to prevent fires, either. Also, if the cigarette falls near the head of a sleeping smoker, the smoldering fire can produce enough carbon monoxide to kill him or her before there is enough heat from the burning chair/bed to activate the sprinkler.
REALITY: UM…. NO COMMENT LOL
MYTH: An un-educated public is the real problem.
FACT: Local fire departments and other community safety officials do a very good job of informing the public about fire safety. Despite these public safety campaigns, cigarette fire deaths are still far too common. Part of the problem is that even with education, someone who is impaired by alcohol or drug use is less likely to remember a fire safety lesson. And education does not save the innocent victims who are killed in cigarette-ignited fires just because they happened to be in the same residence at the time the fire occurred.
REALITY: BINGO…. IF THE PUBLIC REALLY KNEW WHAT WAS BEING DONE UNDER THEIR NOSES THEY WOULD FIGHT TO STOP IT, BUT SADLY MOST OF YOU ARE SHEEP AND WILL GO WHEREVER YOU ARE LEAD NO QUESTIONS ASKED!
MYTH: Upholstered furniture and mattresses are the real problems.
FACT: Fire safety is about redundancy in safety measures, and cigarettes should not get a free pass. We need to try to prevent fires by addressing ignition sources and fuels, as well as human behavior, and we need to have smoke alarms and sprinklers in place in case our efforts at preventing fires fail. Upholstered furniture and mattresses have had enhanced cigarette resistance for decades, thanks to an industry standard in the first case and an early regulation of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in the second. But it may be decades before every American household has fire-resistant furniture and mattresses. Cigarettes are purchased and used much more quickly than furniture. Lower ignition strength cigarettes can therefore have a positive effect on the fire problem much sooner.
REALITY: UMM… YEAH BLAME THAT STUPID COUCH FOR THE FIRE (ERROR ERROR ERROR)
MYTH: The push for fire-safe cigarettes is just an anti-smoking campaign.
FACT: The Coaltion for Fire-Safe Cigarettes is concerned about fire safety, and preventing deaths and injuries from cigarette-ignited fires. This is not about getting people to stop smoking or to smoke less. This is about making sure that the cigarettes that are smoked are less likely to cause fires.
REALITY: B I N G O! IT’S ACTUALLY A GENIUS PLAN, PUT MORE DEADLY STUFF INTO THE SMOKES, KILL OFF SMOKERS, THE ONES WHO FIND OUT WHAT’S INSIDE WILL QUIT SMOKING. THIS IS SIMPLY YET ANOTHER ATTACK ON SMOKERS IN ‘THE LAND OF THE FREE’
MYTH: The state-by-state campaign should be stopped to focus on the tobacco companies and a federal standard.
FACT: The progress of this grassroots campaign has been amazing and stunningly fast. In less than two years, 20 states have adopted the same standard to better protect their residents. States are recognizing the need to offer their residents this available protection. Having consistent laws on the books gives the states the monitoring and enforcement power they need to regulate all cigarettes being manufactured and sold within their borders. It is important to continue this effort. Of course, the tobacco companies could do this on their own even more quickly and the Coalition has urged them to do that for nearly two years. There is no guarantee that a federal standard would be consistent with laws being adopted at the state level. Any change or debate would cause unnecessary confusion and delay. Any delay means more people will die needlessly.
REALITY: WELL IT SHOULD JUST BE STOPPED AND REPEALED!
MYTH: This issue can be addressed by a federal standard.
FACT: The first national cigarette fire safety law was proposed in the 1970s. There is no basis to believe that Congress is prepared to move on cigarette fire safety legislation. Since the last Congressional study came out in 1993, some 10,000 Americans have died as a result of cigarette fires. Until a strong fire safety standard can be enacted by the U.S. Congress, we must pursue regulation at the state level.
REALITY: PLEASE SEE PRIOR RESPONSE ABOVE
MYTH: A state legislature shouldn’t act because data doesn’t show how effective the law will be.
FACT: Rigorous design and testing of the test method over two decades correlates the laboratory tests to real-world fires. ASTM, the private non-profit standards-setting organization, refined the test developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The tobacco industry participated in the governmental and ASTM processes. It’s common sense: a cigarette that burns to its full length generates more heat and is more likely to cause a fire than one that self extinguishes half way down. Moreover, a January 2005 CNBC segment shown at the joint Senate committee hearing in February 2005, provides a compelling demonstration of the preventative effects of reduced-ignition cigarettes: a fire safe cigarette extinguished in about five minutes; a standard cigarette smoldered for more than two hours before the test upholstered chair burst into flames.
REALITY: UM… NO COMMENT
MYTH: Cigarette sales dropped in New York because of the law that requires fire-safe cigarettes.
FACT: The January 2005 Harvard School of Public Health study shows that no change in per capita cigarette sales occurred in New York when comparing the five months following their regulation compared with the corresponding time period the year before. The report found “New York has experienced no decline in cigarette sales or excise tax payments since the standard went into effect.” A 2.5% drop in cigarette revenue was “found not to be statistically significant when accounting for month-to-month and state-to-state variation.” In addition, because the price was not raised and many consumers have not even noticed the change, any decrease in sales would most likely be attributed to other factors, such as decreased smoking rates.
REALITY: I KNOW MYSELF AND OTHERS OF THE HELL STAFF WILL ONLY BUY NON FSC SMOKES FROM OUT OF STATE FROM NOW ON… AND WE ARE CONVERTING MORE AND MORE PEOPLE TO DO THE SAME, SO YEAH IT WILL MAKE SALES DROP
MYTH: State cigarette tax revenue will evaporate.
FACT: The Harvard School of Public Health researchers reviewed New York tax data for six months after the implementation of the new law. They found the lower ignition strength cigarettes appeared to have no effect on sales of cigarettes in New York. NASFM President and New York State Fire Administrator James A. Burns concurred with the analysis, saying the state has not lost revenue.
REALITY: SEE PRIOR RESPONSE
MYTH: The law discriminates against “mom and pop” retailers.
FACT: The fire-safe cigarette laws apply to all retail cigarette sales, so there is no discrimination on the size of the retailer.
REALITY: SEE PRIOR RESPONSE
Until next time….
HAIL ME!
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