A recent house fire that killed 10 people in Bardstown, Ky. -- caused by a smoldering cigarette -- has advocates calling for state legislation to require all cigarettes to be designed to self-extinguish if left unattended, the Associated Press reported Feb. 22.

"We should act quickly to make sure we don't have those kinds of tragedies in the future," said Lorraine Carli, a spokeswoman for the National Fire Protection Association. So-called "fire-safe cigarette" legislation has been introduced in the Kentucky legislature and at least 19 other states.

In Kentucky, the state Senate passed a fire-safe cigarette bill this week; the House of Representatives is considering similar legislation.

Fires caused by cigarettes kill 700 to 900 people annually in the U.S., and cigarettes are blamed for a third of all fires in Kentucky.

New York passed the first law requiring that cigarette companies only sell fire-safe cigarettes, and state officials say the 2004 law has reduced the number of fires and fatalities. Tobacco company Philip Morris supports the Kentucky legislation, but R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. opposes the bill, saying that there is no proof that the cigarettes will significantly reduce fires.