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Fire-Safe Cigarette Paper Ingredients

According to the National Association of Attorneys General, cigarettes are the number one cause of death by fire in the U.S., killing around 1,000 people and injuring approximately 1,500 Americans every year. The National Fire Prevention Association released a statement in the 1980s which said fire-safe cigarettes would eliminate three quarters of smoking-related fire deaths. In 2003, the first fire-safe cigarette legislation was passed in the state of New York, and tobacco companies began to manufacture cigarettes with fire-safe paper by 2004. So what ingredients are used to make these fire-safe cigarette papers?

  1. Identification

    • The two largest tobacco manufacturing companies (Phillip Morris USA and R. J. Reynolds) both post ingredient lists on their websites. However, neither company distinguishes between ingredients used in fire-safe cigarette papers and those used in conventional cigarette papers. As listed on www.philipmorrisusa.com, the ingredients used for making their cigarette paper are cellulose, calcium carbonate, monopotassium phosphate, potassium citrate, sodium citrate, guar gum depolymerized, hercon 70, and carbomethylcellulose. Both tobacco manufacturers also list on their websites a composite list of tobacco and flavor ingredients (125 total) and a composite list of "non tobacco components" (approximately 140) used in all brands. However, not all of the ingredients listed are actually in every brand.

    Function

    • New York began selling fire-safe cigarettes in 2004.

      Fire-safe cigarettes are manufactured by wrapping the tobacco with several extra thin layers of less-porous paper that act as "speed bumps" to slow down the burning of the cigarette. When these cigarettes are left unattended, they burn down to reach one of these "speed bumps" and self-extinguish. None of the major tobacco manufacturers distinguish between ingredients used in making fire-safe and traditional cigarette paper. The banded paper wrapping is the primary method utilized for achieving fire-safe paper compliance. Many materials can be used to make the bands in the paper, including cellulosic or other polymeric materials.

    Considerations

    • Fire-safe cigarettes use an adhesive to glue the thin layers of banded paper together. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it is reported that two chemicals are used in the side-seam adhesive of these cigarettes, ethylene vinyl acetate and polyvinyl acetate. Since the additional layers of paper are used, more adhesive is needed. The main ingredient contained in the fire-safe cigarette paper adhesive, ethylene vinyl acetate, is the same adhesive used to glue the backing on carpeting. This chemical has been shown to cause tumors in mice in studies, but has not been tested on humans.

    Warnings

    • A Harvard School of Health study found that fire-safe cigarettes produced 13.9 percent more naphthalene and 11.4 percent more carbon monoxide than regular cigarettes when they are smoked. Naphthalene is a chemical that is commonly found in mothballs, and high exposure can result in permanent damage to the eyes and liver. Symptoms of acute exposure can include headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, malaise, confusion, anemia, jaundice, convulsions and coma.

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