The Fire-Safe Cigarette Law will be implemented on Tuesday, July 1.
In May 2007, Gov. Martin O’Malley signed the Cigarette Fire Safety Performance Standard and Firefighters Safety Protection Act, making Maryland the 11th state to pass the legislation.
The new cigarettes possess an ability to self extinguish, reducing the chance of fire. Fire standard compliant cigarettes need to meet the American Society for Testing Materials criteria. Most use a different design in the paper, restricting air flow. The bans of paper act as speed bumps to slow the burning process.