News releases
Lawmakers, Fire Officials, Advocates and Victims’ Families Celebrate Passage of Fire-Safe Cigarettes Bill
Boston, July 25, 2006—Lawmakers, fire officials, advocates and victims’ families celebrated the passage of the Fire-Safe Cigarettes Bill on Tuesday at a state house reception. On July 8, Governor Romney signed the bill into law, making Massachusetts the sixth state in the country to require tobacco companies to sell only self-extinguishing cigarettes.
Similar laws requiring self-extinguishing cigarettes have passed in California, New York, Vermont, Illinois, New Hampshire and for the entire country of Canada.
The bill was named for the Kearney family of West Roxbury who lost six people in one of Boston’s deadliest fires, a 1990 Roslindale blaze that claimed the lives of Maureen Kearney O'Neill; her husband, Myles; their three daughters Charlene, 3; Stacy, 2; and Liana, 10 months, and a family friend. At the state house reception a coalition of fire safety groups, the Massachusetts Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes, presented Sen. Brewer, Representative Kaprielian and members of the Kearney family with awards for their tireless effort in passing the bill. The Massachusetts Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes includes American Academy of Pediatrics, MA chapter, American Burn Association, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association of MA, American Lung Association of Norfolk County, American Lung Association of Western MA, Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America, NE Chapter, Boston Public Health Commission,  |
| Members of the Kearney family accept an award for their efforts in getting the bill signed in Massachusetts. |
Contact: Lorraine Carli, NFPA Public Affairs Office, +1 617 984-7275
Eric Bourassa, MASSPIRG, +1 617 747-4314
Home Contact Privacy Policy Terms of Use Help © National Fire Protection Association 2013