The RAnts of RA

I am thoroughly convinced that the State of California is trying to kill me.

Since the California Legislature has been unsuccessful in taxing smokers out of existence, they are now trying to kill us off.

As a long time smoker, who takes her health very seriously – don’t laugh, I really do. I’ve tried the whole quitting routine (five years), only to find that my health problems had multiplied and I was far worse off without my trusty pack of smokes than I was with them. I won’t bore you with the details – you’ll just have to trust me on this one.

After a recent purchase of my regular brand, Marlboro menthol cigarettes, which are made by none-other-than the infamous Phillip Morris, I began to notice something was terribly wrong with my cigarettes. They kept going out, if I wasn’t continuously dragging on the filter. Three times I actually thought I had lost the cherry off the end and began a frantic search for it, not wanting to burn a hole in my new pajamas.

“It is important to note that these cigarettes are not “fire-safe.” Anything that burns, if handled carelessly, can cause a fire. RCIP cigarettes should be handled and disposed of properly, just like regular cigarettes.” (Phillip Morris’s website)

Well, I have to tell you, even though Phillip Morris claims they are not fire-safe, I can assure you that starting a fire with these would be very difficult.

I realized about halfway through the pack that something was different about this pack. So, I went in search of an answer. It didn’t take me long to find it:

Phillip Morris posted the following on their website:

Reduced Cigarette Ignition Propensity (RCIP) describes cigarettes that demonstrate a reduced ignition propensity in certain laboratory tests. New York (effective June 28, 2004), Vermont (effective May 1, 2006) and California (effective January 1, 2007) have enacted laws adopting a statewide performance standard for RCIP.

Today, many manufacturers including Philip Morris USA (PM USA) use banded cigarette paper to achieve compliance with mandatory standards and improved test results. The developers of the test method, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), have stated that cigarettes with improved test performance are less likely to ignite bedding and upholstered furniture, such as mattresses and sofas. Banded paper cigarettes have been in the marketplace for a short time however, and therefore there is a limited amount of data regarding their actual real-world impact.

I have to tell you that if a smoker smokes these cigarettes for any length of time, it will certainly kill them. I’ve never had to inhale so deeply, to keep a cigarette from going out. I can only surmise that in their zeal to “protect” “innocent” citizens from the hazard presented by those nasty smokers, the legislators in Vermont, New York and California have colluded with tobacco manufacturers, to sacrifice smokers.

I’ve smoked about 15 cigarettes made with the new, banded paper and already my throat hurts, my lungs feel heavy and I’m having trouble breathing. Symptoms I don’t normally develop unless I have a cold or respiratory illness.

Phillip Morris admits the new paper has only been used for a short time and that they have no idea what the health impact will be on the smokers who are forced into this experiment against their will or the impact they will have on our environment.

Call me crazy but I say this is a lawsuit just waiting to happen.

Related Links

• States push fire-safe cigarettes
• Repeal Fire Safe Cigarette Laws
• Suit Alleges Philip Morris Hid Cigarette-Fire Risk
• Smoking is Legal
• Links for Smokers
• Smokers’ reactions to reduced ignition propensity cigarettes.
• Self-Extinguishing Cigarettes Designed by Manufacturers Sold in NY
• Tobacco Timeline: The Twentieth Century 1900-1949–The Rise of the Cigarette