REDUCED IGNITION PROPENSITY CIGARETTES: IS THERE A CHANGE IN SMOLDERING IGNITION HAZARD?

摘要

Legislation has passed in all 50 states in the United States, allowing only cigarettes with reduced ignition propensity (RIP), also known as “fire-safe cigarettes,” to be sold to consumers. A “fire-safe cigarette” is designed to have reduced propensity to burn when left unattended. As of July 1, 2011, these cigarettes have completely saturated the U.S. market, and the residential fire hazard associated with smoldering cigarettes may be changing. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) does not have statutory authority to regulate cigarettes, but it does have the authority, under the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA), to regulate the flammability of residential soft furnishings, including mattresses, bedding products, and upholstered furniture, which are often involved in cigarette-ignited fires. Currently, the CPSC addresses the cigarette ignition risk for mattresses and mattress pads in the Standard for the Flammability of Mattresses and Mattress Pads (16 CFR part 1632). The agency has proposed a standard for the flammability of upholstered furniture that addresses cigarette ignition risk (proposed 16 CFR part 1634). CPSC staff is evaluating the change in cigarette ignition hazard that may result from the fire-safe cigarette legislation and recently conducted testing to assess the difference in the flammability hazard of conventional (non- RIP) and RIP cigarettes on mattresses and mattress pads. This paper presents the methodology, results, and data analysis of this work.