Eric Gustafson enjoys lighting up the cigarettes of his choice, but finding his favorite kind after August 31 might be a little harder. Louisiana passed legislation in 2007 to mandate the manufacturing and sale of fire-safe cigarettes. The law will go into effect in August, and normal cigarettes will not be sold. Louisiana is one of 38 states to pass the legislation, according to Lorraine Carli, National Fire Protection Association and the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes spokeswoman.The law for fire-safe cigarettes was proposed by Rep. Karen St. Germain, D-Plaquemine, as a fire safety act, said Carrie Broussard, Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living policy and advocacy manager. Fire-safe cigarettes are wrapped with two or three thin paper bands that slow the burning and cause the cigarette to self-extinguish. All fire-safe cigarette boxes are required to have a specific label indicating compliance. One of those labels is the letters “FSC,” for Fire Standards Compliant.Nathan McCallum, Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s office staticsion, said 104 fires were started from cigarettes in Louisiana in 2007, a decrease from the 207cigarette-related fires in 2006. Not all the parishes have submitted their reports for 2007, he said. Cigarettes are one of the top-10 most common cause of fires, he said. “In 2007, almost a million dollars in losses [were] based strictly on cigarettes,” McCallum said. McCallum said the Fire Marshal’s office usually reports one or two deaths caused by cigarette-related fires. He also said normal cigarettes usually take between 90 seconds and five minutes to actually light a fire. “We haven’t had any actual access to [fire safe cigarettes] yet,” MacCallum said. “They will supposedly not smolder like a regular cigarette but go out when left alone.” Baton Rouge Tobacco Company officials declined comment.Owen Gouzier, Southdowns Discount Liquor and Cigarettes employee, said some people are upset because they have to take deeper puffs to smoke the new cigarette.The fire-safe cigarettes force the smoker to maximize the amount of chemicals going into the body, Gouzier said. The Harvard School of Public Health study compared the two types of cigarettes and found differences.”There is no evidence that these increases affect the already highly toxic nature of cigarette smoke,” according to the report. Gouzier said his store probably won’t eliminate regular cigarettes until August but will begin to replace the current stock with cigarettes that meet regulations.Michael Farr, engineering sophomore, said he thought the cigarettes were a good idea, but he is concerned about added health issues.”I would like the right to choose,” Farr said. “I’ve never been in favor of someone making decisions for me.” The Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes began in 2006 with the single focus to get fire-safe cigarette laws in place across the country, Carli said.  Kaci St. Romaine, philosophy sophomore, said she thinks it’s a good idea, as long as the prices don’t increase too much. “I’ve caused a few small fires myself,” she said, explaining they were harmless.Gustafson said his only concern about the law is if the companies will still sell the brand he likes and if the cost will increase.  The Coalition for Fire-Safe  Cigarettes talked with the manufacturers for tobacco companies, and the cost is only pennies more, Carli said. The manufacturers said the fire-safe cigarettes will cost the same amount of money for consumers, she said.—-Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]