Texas Department of Insurance

Fire standard compliant cigarettes (FSCC) are designed to reduce the amount of time that a cigarette continues to burn when it is not actively being smoked. By reducing the amount of time the cigarette continues to burn it is less likely to ignite furniture or bedding material.  The predominant method that cigarette companies use to produce fire standard compliant cigarettes is by wrapping the cigarettes with two or three thin bands of paper that is less porous than the outer paper tube.  These bands act as “speed bumps” slowing down the burning of a cigarette, causing it to self-extinguish.  

How the Fire Standard Compliant Cigarette (FSCC) Law Affects Retailers, Wholesalers, Manufacturers and Consumers

Retailers

The FSCC law went into effect on January 1, 2009. From January 1, 2009, until December 31, 2009, retailers will be allowed to sell their existing inventory if the state tax stamp was affixed to the cigarettes before January 1, 2009.  After January 1, 2010, all cigarettes sold in Texas must be certified fire standard compliant in accordance with Chapter 796 of the Health and Safety Code. 

Retailers must allow representatives of the State Fire Marshal’s Office and Comptroller’s Office to inspect the records and stocks of cigarettes sold in their establishment.

FSCCs will have a special marking on the package to indicate compliance with the cigarette fire safety standards.  The marking will normally be the letters “FSC” near the UPC.

Manufacturers are required to supply distributors and wholesalers with a sample of their marking. Retailers will receive illustrations of approved fire standard compliant cigarette package markings from their distributor or wholesaler.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health Report, cigarette sales have not shown a decline after the implementation of the fire-standard compliant cigarette.

Wholesalers/Distributors

From January 1, 2009, until December 31, 2009, wholesalers/distributors will be allowed to sell their existing inventory if they can prove the state tax stamp was affixed to the cigarettes before January 1, 2009, in a quantity that is comparable to the quantity of cigarettes they purchased during 2007.  After January 1, 2010, all cigarettes sold in Texas must be certified fire standard compliant in accordance with Chapter 796 of the Health and Safety Code. 

Wholesalers and distributors have to provide, to each of the retailers to which the wholesale dealer or distributor sells cigarettes, a copy of the fire standard compliant package marking that they received from the manufacturer. 

Wholesalers and distributors must allow representatives of the State Fire Marshal’s Office and Comptroller’s Office to inspect the records and stocks of cigarettes within their establishment.

Manufacturers

Any product meeting the definition of a cigarette in Chapter 796 of the Health and safety Code must be certified by the manufacturer to be fire standard compliant. This includes the South Asian cigarette known as the beedi (also spelled bidi or biri). Manufacturers must submit form SF251, Application for Fire Standard Compliant Cigarette Marking Approval, to the State Fire Marshal’s Office. A sample of the proposed marking must accompany the form. After the proposed marking is approved, the manufacturer must provide wholesalers and distributors a copy of the sample marking.

Each variety of cigarette must be tested at a laboratory meeting ISO/IEP 17025 accreditation. After the cigarettes have been tested the manufacturer may certify the cigarette as fire standard compliant for sale in Texas. The certification must be submitted on form SF250. The certification fee of $250.00 per variety of cigarette must accompany the form.  Certifications are valid for three years from the date the certification was received by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.  Manufacturers must re-certify each variety of cigarette every three years.

The forms may be downloaded in PDF format here. If you would prefer the forms in Word format, please contact the FSCC Program Coordinator by email.

Manufacturers must retain copies of the reports of all tests conducted on all cigarettes offered for sale for the previous three years and provide copies of the documentation upon written request from the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office appreciates the cigarette manufacturers' continued support and cooperation. 

Consumers

The cost of cigarettes is not anticipated to increase due to fire standard compliant cigarette technology. The Harvard School of Public Health study, conducted after New York began requiring fire standard compliant cigarettes, comparing prices in upstate New York State to prices in Massachusetts found that prices remained comparable.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health study, there is no evidence that the small increases in five of fourteen toxic compounds noted in FSCCs “affect the already highly toxic nature of cigarette smoke.”

There may be a reduced availability of a small number of older brands and sub-brands due to the fire standard compliant cigarette regulations.

The establishment of FSCCs in Texas is not an anti-smoking campaign.  The State Fire Marshal’s Office is primarily concerned with fire safety and preventing deaths, injury and property loss due to cigarette ignited fires.

All requirements concerning the establishment, implementation and enforcement of the Fire Standard Compliant Cigarettes Law are found in the text of HB 2935, as signed into law by Governor Rick Perry: Full Text of the Fire Standard Compliant Cigarettes Law.

Rules implementing the Fire Standard Compliant Cigarettes Law have been added to the Texas Administrative Code: Texas Administrative Code Rules for the Fire Standard Compliant Cigarettes Law.

Safe Smoking Practices

Whether you smoke a cigarette, pipe or cigar, you are smoking burning tobacco. In the right circumstances an improperly discarded tobacco product can start a fire. Although fire standard compliant cigarettes may reduce the likelihood that a cigarette will ignite a fire, safe smoking practices must still be used. The best alternative is to smoke outside and extinguish cigarettes in water or sand. Ashtrays should be deep and sturdy and placed on something that is hard to ignite, such as a table. Ashtrays should never be put on sofas, chairs or beds. Soak cigarette butts and ashes in water before throwing them away. Hot cigarettes or ashes should never be tossed into a trashcan.

Never smoke in a house where oxygen is in use. You should never smoke near an oxygen source, even if it is turned off. Oxygen can be explosive and causes a fire to burn hotter and faster.

Use the personal ashtrays or the ashtray in your car to extinguish your cigarettes. A cigarette thrown from a car window can cause wild land fires that endanger people, homes and animals.

Resources

• Resources

  • List of Cigarettes Certified by Manufacturers for Sale in Texas
  • United States Fire Administration Relaunches Smoking and Home Fires Campaign
  • NIST Relative Ignition Propensity of Test Market Cigarettes
  • Fire Standard Compliant Cigarettes: Consumer Information
  • Fire Standard Compliant Cigarettes: Retailer Information
  • Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes
  • Fire-Safer Cigarettes Study: The Effect Of The New York State Cigarette Fire Safety Standard On Ignition Propensity, Smoke Toxicity, And The Consumer Market
  • Nova Search for a Safer Cigarette

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