A bill requiring that cigarettes extinguish themselves when unattended has the support of Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney and the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes, a group working to prevent cigarette-ignited fires, according to WLOX.com.
The cigarettes are made with two or three bands of less-porous paper that will stop burning if the smoker is not inhaling.
Chaney wants to decrease the number of fires caused by people falling asleep while smoking. He said furniture fires can quickly become lethal.
"Two breaths of foam-rubber smoke and you're dead," said Chaney, who doubles as the state fire marshal. "You don't wake up if you're asleep."
The Mississippi Legislatureboth the House and the Senatehas passed SB 2249, but the House is holding the bill for more discussion.
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