Massachusetts Medical Society Urges Passage of Legislation Requiring Selfextinguishing Cigarettes



April 29, 2005 -- Saying that passage of such legislation would save lives, reduce serious injury and prevent the unnecessary loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage and health care expenditures, the Massachusetts Medical Society today urged passage of a bill that would require that all cigarettes sold in the state be self-extinguishing.

Representatives of the Society appeared at a news conference Wednesday morning along members of Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, National Fire Protection Association, and the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts. The coalition was urging passage of House Bill 1914 and Senate Bill 1345, An Act to Reduce the Loss of Life Due to Fires Caused by Cigarettes.

Corinne Broderick, executive vice president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the statewide professional association of physicians, said "Physicians see the tragic results of preventable fires, including loss of life and the sometimes permanent scarring of burn victims. But physicians also see the hidden damage to the victims, both physical and psychological, that still remains even when their outward appearance becomes normal."

"Most of these tragedies could have been prevented," she said, "if cigarettes were self-extinguishing. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that the technology to accomplish this goal is available to cigarette manufacturers, but that most have failed to implement it."

The House and Senate bills are two identical measures that would mandate the Department of Public Health, in consultation with the State Fire Marshal, to develop fire safety standards for cigarettes sold in the Commonwealth. The bill would require that all cigarettes sold in the state be self-extinguishing. At present, no standards exist either on the Federal or state level.

According to statistics from the Quincy-based National Fire Protection Association, fires from smoking take an enormous toll, both nationally and locally. Each year, more than 800 Americans die and another 2,200 are injured in these fires, with a huge economic price tag exceeding $560 million in direct property damages, according to NFPA.

That toll, noted Broderick, does not include the millions of dollars spent in health care for emergency treatment, hospital and outpatient care, pharmaceuticals, and physical and psychiatric rehabilitation. Broderick also noted that the situation could even get worse, as a result of the massive state cutbacks in funding tobacco control efforts over the past few years.

Spending on tobacco control efforts in the state has been slashed from $48 million in fiscal year 2001 to $3.75 million in fiscal year 2005. And in a further sign of declining public health efforts, the Commonwealth has dropped from first in the country to 40th in its efforts to protect children from the dangers of smoking, according to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

Broderick also noted that New York put a similar law into effect last year. "Since voluntary adoption of this technology has been far from universal," she said, "legislatively authorized standards are the best solution."

The Massachusetts Medical Society, with some 18,300 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society publishes The New England Journal of Medicine, one of the world's leading medical journals; the Journal Watch family of professional newsletters covering 11 specialties; and AIDS Clinical Care. The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education for health care professionals throughout Massachusetts. Founded in 1781, MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. For more information, visit http://www.massmed.org.

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Richard P. Gulla,
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Massachusetts Medical Society Urges Passage of Legislation Requiring Selfextinguishing Cigarettes