New cigarette law goes in the books Friday
Among new laws taking effect in Arkansas on Friday is one that will require retailers in the state to sell only “fire-safe” cigarettes.
According to an article by the Associated Press, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia are among other states putting similar laws on the books.
While companies like Philip Morris USA deny the inclusion of new ingredients in the new fire-safe cigarettes, smokers have found problems with them.
Conway’s Tobacco Superstore manager Kristen Stapleton said several customers have complained. According to Stapleton, customers have left the store unhappily in search of unregulated cigarettes. While the stock still includes some nonregulated cigarettes, all products received after Friday will be compliant.
Stapleton said it has been hard for smokers of more popular brands to find unregulated cigarettes due to supply and demand. Cigarette styles manufactured at a quicker pace have already become hard to find unregulated. The new cigarettes have thin bands that slow the speed of burning or cause the cigarette to extinguish when not engaged.
“We’ve had people completely switch brands depending on what they can get. People walk away when they don’t find their brand unregulated.”
Customers have complained about headaches, nausea, dizziness and coughing on top of a different taste and having to be re-lit several times.
Melinda Davis of Center Ridge said as a smoker she can tell a difference. She reported sinus issues at first with coughing and felt generally ill until she smoked the non-regulated Grand Prix cigarettes for a week and became ill again after going back to regulated ones.
Arkansas House Speaker Robbie Wills is in favor of the new regulations. He said although he would rather people be able to quit smoking, he is for trying to make smoking safer.
Cigarettes are often linked to the causes of residential home fires and accidents resulting in death and injury.
Stapleton said until stores are depleted, “People are scrambling to get whatever they can that isn’t FSC.”
(Staff writer Courtney Spradlin can be reached at 505-1236 or by E-mail at courtney.spradlin@thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit.)
Comments (3)
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If you quit smoking, you may get rid of the sinus issues and the coughing and hacking.
This policy is an outrage.
What is the point in making cigarettes fire safe? Are there really any more fires started by lit cigarettes than by lit candles? They should not mandate that all cigarettes sold in the state should be fire safe. If someone is so concerned that their cigarette might somehow cause fire in their home then they should have the option of buying fire safe cigarettes. The rest of the smokers who don't pass out drunk on the couch with a lit cigarette in their hand need not worry about catching their houses on fire by cigarettes. Also, how is adding a fire retardant making smoking safer? Arkansas House Speaker Robbie Wills apperantly thinks that by causing less fires, smoking somehow becomes safer, but has anyone studied the long term health effects of this new fire retardant? Well lets see.... a google search indicates that the new ingrediant for fire retardation is sodium silicate and according to noaa it is known to be an irratant and harmful (http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/9082). All I can say is "wow, Mr. Wills did you really just make smoking safer or did you just mandate that Arkansans who smoke, must smoke more toxic cigarettes than most other states".
5 away you think crack
5 away you think crack addicts are bad ,,, what till they take the nicotine out ,,,,,someone hooked on smoking is just as dangerous as a crack head looking for a rock or a unregulated cigarette two for 20
See
What happens when you have enough money to lobby to have these laws made. I think normal people should create a lobby and call it the Anti Lobby Lobby - and maybe if we pay enough we won't have to worry bout the nanny state!
Anyway off my soap box, I smoked until last Febuary so i know how any changes in my habit could throw off my whole chemistry for weeks. Elite right, take away smokes and someone has to die