Tobacco company R.J. Reynolds was the main opponent to a bill in the Maryland legislature that would have required all cigarettes sold in the state to be made of fast-extinguishing "fire-safe" materials, USA Today reported May 9.

The bill died without a vote in the Senate last month, despite the support of Maryland firefighters. "This is something that can save lives," said Pete Piringer, a spokesperson for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue department.

Reynolds and other tobacco firms also have worked to defeat such laws in other states, although New York, Vermont, and California lawmakers have succeeded in passing such bills, anyway. At least 15 state legislatures considered fire-safe laws this year, but none passed.

The Maryland bill failed to advance despite the state House approving it on a 124-12 vote; a pair of senators was able to block the measure procedurally. "The delay tactic was adopted ... because (opponents) didn't think they had the votes to kill it," said Kathleen Dachille of the University of Maryland's Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation and Advocacy.

Reynolds officials say such laws are unnecessary, and that the key to preventing cigarette-related fires is education. Leading tobacco firm Philip Morris, however, has not worked against the bills, rather calling for a single national standard for such laws if and when they are implemented.

Tobacco-industry lobbyists also have succeeded in blocking fire-safe proposals in the U.S. Congress. "The tobacco industry still has a veto in this Congress," said bill sponsor Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass). "Once consumers realize tobacco companies are selling safer cigarettes in (some states) and more dangerous cigarettes everywhere else, they will start demanding a national standard."