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[ INDUSTRY NEWS]
Vermont Senate approves fire-safe cigarettes
In April, Vermont state senators unanimously approved legislation that would require all cigarettes sold in the state to self-extinguish. Should the legislation become law, all cigarettes sold in Vermont would be deemed "fire-safe" by May 2006.
The bill has gained leverage as a means to reduce smoking-related fires, reported the Rutland Herald. A spokesperson for the Vermont Medical Society said that cigarettes are the leading cause of fatal home fires and that people often fall asleep with a lit cigarette.
Less than one-year old, New York's "fire-safe" law has not produced conclusive data that would suggest a decrease in fires caused from cigarettes left unattended, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco spokesperson James Goold told the Herald. "It makes a great deal of sense to see if there has actually been a decrease of fires in New York before another state follows down that path."
Vermont is also a state that does not require a minimum age that someone must be in order to legally sell cigarettes. Under the measure, the minimum age would be set at 16.
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