BIO-2 Filter Paper – Low Ignition Tendency Cigarette Test

In the past few years, many states in the United States and Canada have introduced legislation requiring cigarette manufacturers to sell cigarettes with low ignition propensity (RIP) (commonly known as fire-resistant cigarettes).

The driving force behind this legislation was that a large number of fatalities were caused by smoking-related fires. For example, in 2001, 840 people in the United States alone died from smoking-related fires (about 25% of the fire deaths in the United States in 2001). Most victims are children and the elderly. The social damage caused by cigarette fires is estimated to be approximately US $ 4 billion per year (US).

By extinguishing cigarettes on their own, the number of fires and fatalities caused by accidentally discarding cigarette ends and falling asleep to smokers is achieved.

This kind of self-extinguishing cigarette is also called a low ignition tendency cigarette.

Cigarettes can extinguish themselves in many different ways. At present, the most widely used technique is to place a cellulose belt (sometimes called a “deceleration belt”) at a distance along the entire length of the cigarette. When the cigarette burns to one of the bands, if the smoker does not actively smoke, the cigarette will extinguish by itself.

Regulatory requirements
A U.S. state that has passed legislation that only allows RIP cigarettes to be sold in New York State. 2003 From July 28, all cigarettes in New York State must be RIP. Since then, California and Vermont have also passed the legislation. In 2005, Canada passed nationwide legislation on RIP cigarette sales. In the future, other U.S. states and other countries may introduce legislation that only sells RIP cigarettes. A working group in Australia is currently working on this issue. In the United States, Massachusetts and Oregon have formed groups to actively prepare for the legislation.

Testing and certification of low ignition propensity cigarettes
RIP cigarettes must be tested and certified according to the American Society for Materials and Experiments (ASTM) E 2187-04 standard.

Currently, the United States is the country that has RIP cigarette testing standards. Subsequently, Canada may also make relevant legislation based on ASTM standards. Because changing standards will be a lengthy and expensive process, other countries that introduced RIP legislation will likely refer to ASTM standards in the future.

BIO-2 Filter Paper – Low Ignition Tendency Cigarette Test