EU plans rules for self-extinguishing cigarettes

All cigarettes sold across the European Union will have to be "fire-safe" by 2011, meaning they will go out automatically if not puffed on for a minute.

"By introducing self-extinguishing cigarettes, at least 2,000 lives could be saved in the EU each year," EU commissioner for consumer protection Meglena Kuneva told German newspaper Die Welt.

After having received the green light from member states last November, the European Committee for Standardization launched preparation of t...