Can I Buy FSC Free Cigarettes?
- FSC stands for "fire standards compliant," though the acronym sometimes is thought to stand for "fire-safe cigarettes." These cigarettes are designed to extinguish if they are not being smoked.
- FSC cigarettes are made with special banded paper. The bands on this paper act like "speed bumps," according to the Philip Morris USA Inc. website, that inhibit the flow of oxygen through the paper. Because fire needs oxygen to burn, the paper is designed to hamper the cigarette from burning if there is no one actively drawing on it to bring oxygen through the paper.
- Most states have laws that require all cigarettes sold within their borders to be FSC. Those that do not currently have the laws in place will by 2012. As a result, tobacco companies such as Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds now exclusively make FSC cigarettes. However, it is possible there are still some cigarettes out there that were made before the change. In such cases, in some states, those cigarettes may still be sold as long as the tax stamp is dated before the law goes into effect.