Alliance MP Grant Gillon is pleased that the cigarette manufacturer Phillip Morris supports his call for a fire safety standard for cigarettes. A private members bill promoting such a standard was successfully introduced into the house by Mr Gillon last year. "Phillip Morris' announcement that they will utilise 'PaperSelect' cigarette paper in the manufacture of some brands shows that 'fire-safe' cigarettes can be produced without significant additional cost to the industry."

"On Thursday, the Government Administration Select Committee will begin to hear evidence on the Cigarettes (Fire Safety) Bill. With the passage of my bill into law, the Government will have ensured that every cigarette sold in New Zealand is as fire safe as it can be." said Grant Gillon

"An average of 20 people are killed or injured each year in cigarette fires. Many of them are elderly or disabled. Around 600 fires a year are caused by the careless disposal of cigarettes. Many of these tragedies can be averted by simple changes in the manufacture of cigarettes."

"There are a number of ways that manufacturers can meet the test standard as proposed under the bill. This can include reducing the diameter of the cigarette, reducing the density with which it is packed, and reducing the porosity of the cigarette wrapper, thus allowing less oxygen to flow through the paper."

"The Cigarette (Fire Safety) bill is simply about making cigarettes safer and saving lives" said Grant Gillon.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>