Fire Safe Cigarettes

Overview

Cigarette manufacturers must certify to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services that cigarettes sold in Wisconsin are fire safe. DSPS coordinates the implementation and enforcement of the fire-safe certification regulations with the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ), which maintains a registry of cigarette manufacturers. As a company's cigarettes are certified to be fire-safe, the 3-year certification will be noted in the registry.

What is a fire-safe cigarette?

A fire-safe cigarette has a reduced tendency to burn when left unattended. The most common fire-safe technology used by cigarette manufacturers is to wrap cigarettes with two or three thin bands of less-porous paper that act as “speed bumps” to slow down a burning cigarette. If a fire-safe cigarette is left unattended, the burning tobacco will reach one of these speed bumps and self-extinguish.

Fire-safe cigarettes save lives.

Smoking materials are the number one cause of fire deaths in the United States, with cigarette-ignited fires killing 700 to 900 people each year.

Public education, along with improved standards for cigarette-resistant materials in furniture and mattresses, have decreased the number of fires caused by smoking materials and saved many lives.

Fire-Safe cigarettes can still ignite furniture or bedding.

All cigarettes have the potential to start fires, but using “fire-safe” technology tremendously reduces the risk. A fire-safe cigarette cuts off the burning time before most cigarettes are able to ignite things like furniture or bedding material.

Contact Us

Email eslasupport@wisconsin.gov.