Twenty million cigarettes incinerated after Finnish law change

Tobacco giant Philip Morris has been forced to destroy product worth five million euro following changes to legislation that require all cigarettes sold in Finland to be self-extinguishing.

The now-illegal cigarettes were incinerated at the Ekokem kilns, around 70km north of Helsinki in Riihimaki. Philip Morris Finland said in a statement that the mass burning represented a significant financial loss, with the 20 million cigarettes going up in flames.
Finland became the first European country to pass laws making it mandatory for all cigarettes sold in the country to be self-extinguishable. The springtime initiative meant that as of 1 April, all other types of ready-rolled smoking products were banned from sale, reports YLE.

The change to self-extinguishing cigarettes comes as part of a move to reduce the high number of accidental blazes started by smoking – the leading cause of fatal fires in the country. Incidents most commonly occur when people fall asleep while smoking or throw lit cigarettes into rubbish bins. Finnish authorities believe that the move could save up to 20 lives each year.

Finland has become the first country in the continent to pass the safety laws. Australia, Canada and most of the United States have already implemented similar legislation.