Fire Standard Compliant Cigarettes Now the Law in Massachusetts
For more information:
FS Cigarette Certified Listing 
Coalition for Fire Safe Cigarettes
MA Department of Public Health’s Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program
On January 1, 2008, the Fire Standard Compliant Cigarette law took effect in Massachusetts. (M.G.L. c. 64C, § 2A-2F). The law requires that all cigarettes sold or offered for sale in Massachusetts, shall meet the same testing criteria for fire standard compliant cigarettes, as in New York State. New York was the first state to pass such legislation and many other states including all the New England states have as well.
Smoking Leading Cause of Fatal Fires Since WWII
Smoking has been the leading cause of fatal fires in Massachusetts since World War II according to available records. Nationally, smoking is also the leading cause of fatal fires. In 2006, 32% of residential fire deaths in Massachusetts were due to smoking. In a press release announcing the new law, State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said, “The expectation is that when the effect of this law is fully realized, it will help to reduce the number of fatal fires and fire deaths.” For statistics on fires and fire deaths from smoking look at the 2006 Annual Report of the Mass. Fire Incident Reporting System .
Massachusetts Fire Standard Compliant Certification Program
The Secretary of Public Safety & Security has adopted regulations to implement and administer the new Fire Standard Compliant Cigarette Certification program. An unofficial copy of the regulations (501 CMR) can be found at our web site. The Official copy may be obtained from the Massachusetts Secretary of State at the State House Book store. If you have any questions regarding the regulations or the Fire Safe Standard Compliant Cigarette Program, please contact the Department of Fire Services’ Office of General Counsel at (978) 567-3181.
The Department of Fire Services (DFS) has notified manufacturers of the procedures to submit their brands for certification to the new Massachusetts Fire Standard Compliant Certification Program. New York has about 1,200 brands certified as compliant and it is expected Massachusetts will have a lesser number. Staff is being hired to manage the certification, enforcement, testing and oversight process. There is a fee of $3,000 per style sold in the state, renewable every three years, to cover the cost of making sure the cigarettes sold in the state meet these new requirements. Enforcement is considered a critical component of the law’s effectiveness and the fees cover independent testing, purchasing of cigarettes, and administrative costs related to the program.
Sell-Through Provision
Wholesalers and retailers will be able to sell off existing inventory that already had the Massachusetts tax stamp on it prior to January 1, 2008. Such inventories are not to exceed the previous year’s inventory at the same time in order to avoid any dumping onto the Massachusetts market. This means that there will be some non-compliant cigarettes on the shelves for a while. However, on the positive side, many compliant cigarettes are reportedly already on some store shelves.
Markings on Cigarette Packages
All cigarette packages will have to be marked according to standards that indicate they meet the reduced ignition propensity standards. People should look for these marks when purchasing cigarettes, which generally appear as "FSC" near the UPC code.
Investigation Cigarette Caused Fires and New Checklist
Cigarette Fire Checklist (printout / fax or mail version)
Cigarette Fire Checklist (save & email version)
Advisory to Fire Chiefs on Cigarette Fire Checklist
To track compliance and to see if these new types of cigarettes are reducing the number of smoking fires and fire deaths, the State Fire Marshal is asking the heads of all local fire departments to make it department policy to determine, whenever possible, if cigarettes involved in fires were or were not fire standard compliant. The Marshal has also tasked the State Police commander of the Fire Investigation Unit attached to the Office of the State Fire Marshal to make it unit policy. This information is considered to be most probable based on the initial results of the investigation. This checklist is in addition to and not a replacement for a fire department’s mandatory reporting of fires via the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System (MFIRS).
The information acquired from these investigations will be entered into a database and when linked to MFIRS will become a powerful new tool in the fire prevention arsenal. The data would be available to local heads of fire departments upon request.
To help us in this endeavor, I am requesting that a completed checklist be sent to the Fire Data & Public Education Unit at the Office of the State Fire Marshal any time you have a fire that the investigation determines was started by a cigarette. If you have any questions about reporting these fires, please contact Derryl Dion, the Research Analyst and MFIRS Manager at (978) 567-3382 or Derryl.Dion@state.ma.us.