BOSTON—In anticipation
of a public hearing on May 4th, a coalition of lawmakers and victims, consumer,
fire protection and public health groups called for passage of a bill that would
save lives and millions of dollars in property damage each year in the Commonwealth.
State Representative Rachel
Kaprielian (Watertown), State Senator Stephen Brewer (Barre), the Massachusetts
Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG), the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA), the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts
and dozens of other lawmakers and groups are calling on the legislature to pass
An Act to Reduce Loss of Life Due to Fires Caused by Cigarettes (House Bill
1914 & Senate Bill 1345), a bill jointly filed by the two legislators. The
bill would require tobacco companies to make their cigarettes less incendiary,
making them less likely to cause a fire.
"This common sense
solution that will save lives is long overdue," said lead House sponsor,
Representative Rachel Kaprielian (Watertown). "Now that fire safe cigarettes
are being sold in New York, there should be no delay in protecting Massachusetts'
residents by requiring the same fire prevention standard here."
According to data released
today by the Massachusetts Fire Marshal's office, cigarettes remain the number
one cause of fatal household fires. In 2003, cigarette fires killed 18 people,
injured 59 civilians and 48 firefighters, and destroyed $12.6 million in property.
Since 1990, cigarettes have caused 19,419 fires, 902 firefighter injuries, 1,027
civilian injuries, 248 deaths, and $120,920,641 in property damages.
The ability to make cigarettes
that self-extinguish when not being actively smoked has been around since the
1980s and is currently used in all cigarettes sold in the state of New York
and in Canada.
"According to documents
uncovered during litigation, the tobacco industry tested the effectiveness of
fire safe cigarettes as early as 1987 but refused to produce them, despite a
10 year effort by the late Massachusetts Congressman Joseph Moakley," said
Eric Bourassa a Consumer Advocate with MASSPIRG. "We must hold cigarette
manufacturers to the same basic fire safety standards that we hold the manufacturers
of torchiere lamps, space heaters, lighters and other consumer products that
pose potential fire hazards."
Using less porous banded
papers that act as "speed-bumps" to slow down a cigarettes' burn,
fire safer cigarettes are less likely to smolder and burn if dropped onto an
upholstered chair or mattress.
"For as long as NFPA
has had detailed statistics, we have known that the number one cause of fatal
fires is cigarettes. We have aggressively supported this legislation from the
start and will continue to support it until it is law here and at the federal
level," said James M. Shannon, National Fire Protection Association President.
In addition to the civilian
toll of lost lives and damaged health and property, cigarette fires also cause
needless expense and injury to Bay State firefighters. In 2003 alone, 48 firefighters
were injured and 1,240 fire department responses were made because of cigarette-caused
fires.
"It is extremely troubling
that cigarettes are the leading cause of fatal home fires," said Senator
Stephen Brewer (Barre). "Many people killed or injured by cigarette fires
are not just the smokers, but also the firefighters battling the blaze, young
children too little to escape, and the elderly."
The coalitions' efforts were boosted with the release of a study conducted by
the Harvard School of Public Health that showed a significant difference in
the flammability between the self-extinguishing cigarettes sold in New York
and regular cigarettes sold in Massachusetts. In tests of five major brands,
Harvard researchers found that New York cigarettes extinguished on their own
9 out of 10 times compared to the Massachusetts cigarettes, which almost never
extinguished on their own.
"Our research found that Massachusetts and California cigarettes were far
more likely to ignite fires than the same brands sold in New York," said
Greg N. Connolly, from the Division of Public Health Practice at Harvard School
of Public Health and lead author of the study. "New York smokers have accepted
fire safer brands, and they were found to be no more costly or toxic than those
sold in the other states. All states should adopt the New York standard to prevent
needless death and suffering from fires caused by burning cigarettes."
Other supporters of the bill include the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts,
the American Academy of Pediatrics, Shriners Burn Hospital, and the American
Burn Association.
"Physicians see the tragic results of preventable fires, including loss
of life and the sometimes permanent scarring of burn victims. But physicians
also see the hidden damage to the victims, both physical and psychological,
that still remains even when their outward appearance becomes normal,"
said Corinne Broderick, executive vice president of the Massachusetts Medical
Society, the statewide professional association of physicians. "Most of
these tragedies could have been prevented, if cigarettes were self-extinguishing.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that the technology to accomplish this
goal is available to cigarette manufacturers, but that most have failed to implement
it."
This month marks the 15th anniversary of one of the state's worst fires, a blaze
in Roslindale started by a cigarette that claimed the lives of three adults
and three children.
"I have been working on fire safety standards for cigarettes for fifteen
years so that other families will not have to go through the pain of losing
loved ones to fires that could be largely prevented." Said Deirdre Kearney
Howard, whose sister Maureen, brother-in-law Myles O'Neill, their three children
and family friend died in the Roslindale fire.
Public safety advocates are calling on Beacon Hill lawmakers to quickly pass
a non-controversial bill that will save lives and cost the state little money.
The bill is scheduled for a public hearing on May 4th before the Joint Committee
on Public Safety and Homeland Security.
"New York State has proven that the new cigarette technology works and
the new cigarettes are affordable and acceptable to smokers, which means there
is no significant impact on retailers," said Bourassa. "The only change
is more safety."
