Cigarettes will meet fire standards next month

Cigarette laws have been in the spotlight lately, and now a new one will take place in January. Starting next month, cigarettes sold in Virginia must meet fire standards.  One change affects the paper, which will be made to slow the cigarette’s burn rate if left unattended. If nobody is smoking the lit cigarette, it will self-extinguish.

Roanoke County Fire Marshal, Gary Huffman, expects the new law to make a difference. “In the state of New York, in 2004, when they implemented it, they saw a reduction in smoking related fires,“ he said. Cigarettes are the number one cause of fire deaths in the country. Just this year, four people died in Virginia because of smoking-related fires.