New 'fire-safe' cigarettes will put themselves out

Cigarettes that stop burning within two minutes of being put down are to replace conventional brands in an attempt to reduce the number of casualties from fires started by smouldering butts.

The European Commission is to ban traditional cigarettes by 2009-10, forcing smokers to buy 'fire-safe' cigarettes that need constant drags to keep them alight.



Arlene McCarthy, a British Labour member of the European Parliament and chair of its consumer protection committee, said: 'It's very good news. It will save lives. At the moment some people come home, have had a few drinks, fall asleep on the sofa with a cigarette in their hand, it falls on to flammable material and the next thing you know you've got a fire. Fire-safe cigarettes greatly reduce the risk of that happening.'

McCarthy admitted it may prove unpopular among Britain's 10 million smokers. 'Some smokers have said that they felt it would interfere with their smoking experience, but as long as you are smoking the cigarette and drawing on it, it will stay lit. The sensation for the smoker will be no different. But the safety effect will be massive.'