Australia to fast-track 'fire safe' cigarettes

FIRE STORM

by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Feb 20, 2009
Australia's government Friday moved to fast-track the introduction of "fire safe" cigarettes, following the country's deadliest ever wildfires.

A discarded cigarette butt has been linked to one of several major blazes that swept through the southeastern state of Victoria this month, killing 208 people and leaving another 10,000 homeless.

Consumer Affairs Minister Chris Bowen said he would push for the mandatory introduction of self-extinguishing "fire safe" cigarettes -- currently slated for 2010 -- to be expedited in the wake of the deadly fires.

"The minister has requested advice from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission looking at the possibility of bringing forward the start date," a spokesman said.

The cigarettes, which are made with special paper and additives so they go out if left unattended, are compulsory in Canada and some states in the United States.

According to ACCC research, approximately seven percent of fires on public land are started by cigarettes, and eight percent of all fire-related deaths in Australia between 2000 and 2006 were cigarette-related.

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FIRE STORM

Firefighter dies as Aus fires toll hits 200

Melbourne (AFP) Feb 17, 2009
A firefighter helping battle Australia's worst ever wildfire disaster was killed Tuesday, as the official tally of those killed by the fires reached 200.

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