Okay, I don't smoke but there are so many people out there who do that this just makes sense. Vermont has made it law that all cigarettes sold in the state are Fire-Safe. Apparently the paper used to roll these somehow doesn't allow air through it so the only way to keep them burning is to suck air through the tobacco, theoretically by actively smoking them. I know some absent minded smokers who go through a pack in a few hours just by putting one down in an ash try and forgetting and watching it burn down. I'd imagine that this will save them some money.

That all sounds great, but the only real question is how this is done. All paper is porous, isn't it? So how do they treat it to stop it from being breathable? I suppose the answer is that they probably added something akin to plastic or something because, hey, you're killing yourself smoking anyway so why not add a little more?

That raises another fun issue, too. The idea here is to reduce - and hopefully stop - fires caused by burning cigarettes dropped on furniture, floors, or even dry leaves outside. So riddle me this - is it worth adding something that potentially makes smoking even worse for you to avoid these fires? You tell me, since I don't even know that that's how these things work.

Anyhow, this law, rule, or whatever it is, goes into effect on the first of May. More details on this stuff in the article that I got it all from.