A bill sponsored by Sen. Rosalind Kurita of Clarksville to require "fire-safe" cigarettes in Tennessee passed the state Senate today and is on its way to Gov. Bredesen for his signature.
The fire-safe cigarettes bill passed in the house by an overwhelming majority on April 10 and was approved in the Senate this morning.
Fire-safe cigarettes are made from a special paper that contains "speed bumps" — areas of increased thickness that extinguish the cigarettes when air is not pulled through them, according to a news release today from the Senate Democratic Caucus. Unattended cigarettes burn out when the flame hits the speed bumps.
The new law will require that only these cigarettes be sold in Tennessee.
