Oregon's lawmakers passed a bill requiring all cigarettes sold in Oregon to be fire-safe, meaning they must be made from special paper that will extinguish itself if left unattended.

Legislators said there were 1,500 fires in Oregon attributable to cigarettes between 2001 and 2005.
The unanimous vote in the Democratic-controlled House stands in contrast to 2005 when a similar bill passed in the Senate but was blocked by Republicans who controlled the House at the time. The bill now goes to the Senate. If it becomes law, Oregon will join California, Illinois, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Canada in requiring tobacco companies to sell only fire-safe cigarettes. Nineteen other states are considering similar legislation. (pi)