Philip Morris (New Zealand) Limited
A unique type of cigarette paper, called PaperSelect, is to be made available in New Zealand for the first time.
Cigarettes made with this paper may be less likely to start fires if carelessly handled.
PaperSelect is to be used on Philip Morris NZ’s Merit brand of cigarettes.
This special paper has ultra-thin bands of paper applied over traditional cigarette paper during the paper making
process. The rings act as “speed bumps” to slow the rate at which the cigarette burns as the lit end crosses over them.
“With PaperSelect, we believe we may have achieved our goal of providing a cigarette acceptable to consumers that may be
less likely to start fires if carelessly handled” says John Scott, Senior Vice President Philip Morris Asia Pacific.
Compared to ordinary cigarettes, cigarettes made with this paper are more likely to go out if left unattended in an
ashtray, and may be less likely to ignite certain fabrics under test conditions.
There is no such thing as a “fire safe cigarette”. Anything that burns, if handled carelessly, can cause a fire, so
cigarettes made with PaperSelect must be handled and disposed of no less carefully than other cigarettes.
Cigarettes made with PaperSelect paper were evaluated under a laboratory test method designed by the U.S. National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to measure the likelihood that cigarettes will ignite three test fabrics
specified by NIST, being Cotton Duck 4, 6, 10. Under the NIST testing method, PaperSelect cigarettes produced fewer
ignitions of the three test fabrics as compared to the same cigarettes made without the special paper.
In May 2000, tests conducted by NIST found that cigarettes made with PaperSelect have a lower relative ignition
propensity than their conventional counterparts on both the NIST Mock-up Ignition Test and the NIST Cigarette Extinction
Test.
It is important to note that the test fabrics are not necessarily representative of the kinds of fabrics one might find
in a particular home or elsewhere.
We know of no laboratory cigarette ignition propensity test that can satisfactorily replicate real world conditions,
given the wide range of commercially available fabrics found in homes and elsewhere. Although Philip Morris is using the
test protocol developed by NIST, the company is working both internally and with the American Society of Testing and
Materials (ASTM) and others to improve testing protocols.
PaperSelect Page 2
PaperSelect was introduced in the USA in July last year and New Zealand is the first country outside the USA to have
access to the product. There is no product with similar characteristics which is acceptable to consumers currently
available in the New Zealand market.
There has been considerable interest in reducing the risk of accidental fires caused by cigarettes in New Zealand, and
in December last year, a Private Member’s Bill was introduced into Parliament seeking a New Zealand fire safety standard
for cigarettes.
Philip Morris NZ supports the development of such a standard.
Further information may be obtained from:
www.pmintl.com/about_us/products/nz-paperselect.html