Tulsa World: Sunday: Smoke shops sell cigarettes without fire-safe paper

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Sunday: Smoke shops sell cigarettes without fire-safe paper

By OMER GILLHAM and DEON J. HAMPTON World Staff Writers
Published: 10/24/2009 2:46 PM
Last Modified: 10/24/2009 2:46 PM

Several area Indian smoke shops are selling cigarettes without a new kind of fire-safety paper required by legislation enacted last year, a Tulsa World investigation shows.

The World bought several packs of discount-brand cigarettes at smoke shops in Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Sapulpa and Beggs. A new state law requires cigarettes to be wrapped in fire-safe paper, beginning Jan. 1, 2009, said Paula Ross, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

To delay the law’s effect, several area smoke shops appear to be selling old inventory bought before the law took effect about 10 months ago. The law allows retailers to sell old inventory until Jan. 1, 2010.

“Our plan for after January 1, 2010, is to contact the fire marshal’s office if non fire-safe cigarettes are found during a routine compliance check,” Ross said.

Fire-safe paper is designed to extinguish a lit cigarette that is not being smoked, fire officials said.

Read the complete story in Sunday's World.

By OMER GILLHAM and DEON J. HAMPTON World Staff Writers

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Reader comments for this story have been moved to the most updated version of the story, now under the headline "Older smokes still on shelves," which was published on 10/25/2009. So far, 58 comments have been made.