PaperSelect Cigarette Papers
Philip Morris (New Zealand) Limited
A unique type
of cigarette paper, called PaperSelect, is to be made
available in New Zealand for the first time. Cigarettes made
with this paper may be less likely to start fires if
carelessly handled.
PaperSelect is to be used on Philip
Morris NZ’s Merit brand of cigarettes.
This special paper
has ultra-thin bands of paper applied over traditional
cigarette paper during the paper making process. The rings
act as “speed bumps” to slow the rate at which the cigarette
burns as the lit end crosses over them.
“With
PaperSelect, we believe we may have achieved our goal of
providing a cigarette acceptable to consumers that may be
less likely to start fires if carelessly handled” says John
Scott, Senior Vice President Philip Morris Asia
Pacific.
Compared to ordinary cigarettes, cigarettes made
with this paper are more likely to go out if left unattended
in an ashtray, and may be less likely to ignite certain
fabrics under test conditions.
There is no such thing as
a “fire safe cigarette”. Anything that burns, if handled
carelessly, can cause a fire, so cigarettes made with
PaperSelect must be handled and disposed of no less
carefully than other cigarettes.
Cigarettes made with PaperSelect paper were evaluated under a laboratory test method designed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to measure the likelihood that cigarettes will ignite three test fabrics specified by NIST, being Cotton Duck 4, 6, 10. Under the NIST testing method, PaperSelect cigarettes produced fewer ignitions of the three test fabrics as compared to the same cigarettes made without the special paper.
In May 2000, tests conducted by NIST found that cigarettes made with PaperSelect have a lower relative ignition propensity than their conventional counterparts on both the NIST Mock-up Ignition Test and the NIST Cigarette Extinction Test.
It is important to note that the test fabrics are not necessarily representative of the kinds of fabrics one might find in a particular home or elsewhere.
We know of no laboratory cigarette ignition
propensity test that can satisfactorily replicate real world
conditions, given the wide range of commercially available
fabrics found in homes and elsewhere. Although Philip Morris
is using the test protocol developed by NIST, the company is
working both internally and with the American Society of
Testing and Materials (ASTM) and others to improve testing
protocols.
PaperSelect Page 2
PaperSelect was introduced in the USA in July last year and New Zealand is the first country outside the USA to have access to the product. There is no product with similar characteristics which is acceptable to consumers currently available in the New Zealand market.
There has been considerable interest in reducing the risk of accidental fires caused by cigarettes in New Zealand, and in December last year, a Private Member’s Bill was introduced into Parliament seeking a New Zealand fire safety standard for cigarettes.
Philip Morris NZ supports the development of such a standard.
Further information may be obtained
from:
www.pmintl.com/about_us/products/nz-paperselect.html