New York Laws
Article 6-C - Office of Fire Prevention and Control
156-C - Fire Safety Standards for Cigarettes.

(1) That such cigarettes, if ignited, will stop burning within a time
period specified by the standards if the cigarettes are not smoked
during that period; or
(2) That such cigarettes meet performance standards prescribed by the
office of fire prevention and control to limit the risk that such
cigarettes will ignite upholstered furniture, mattresses or other
household furnishings.
b. In promulgating fire safety standards for cigarettes pursuant to
this section, the office of fire prevention and control, in consultation
with the department of health, shall consider whether cigarettes
manufactured in accordance with such standards may reasonably result in
increased health risks to consumers.
c. The office of fire prevention and control shall be responsible for
administering the provisions of this section.
d. The office of fire prevention and control shall report to the
governor and the legislature no later than eighteen months after this
section takes effect on the status of its work in promulgating the fire
safety standards required by this subdivision.
e. When a cigarette is suspected of having ignited a fire, and the
office of fire prevention and control receives information regarding the
brand and style of such cigarette pursuant to section two hundred four-d
or ninety-one-a of the general municipal law, and where such brand and
style had been previously certified pursuant to subdivision three of
this section and the package has been marked as required by subdivision
six of this section, the office of fire prevention and control shall
conduct random testing on cigarettes of the same brand and style in
order to determine whether such cigarettes meet the fire safety
standards mandated by this section; provided however that such testing
shall not be required if the office of fire prevention and control has
tested such brand and style within the preceding three months.
3. On and after the date the fire safety standards take effect in
accordance with subdivision four of this section, no cigarettes shall be
sold or offered for sale in this state unless the manufacturer thereof
has certified in writing to the office of fire prevention and control
that such cigarettes meet the performance standards prescribed by the
office of fire prevention and control pursuant to subdivision two of
this section.
(a) Such certifications must be based upon testing conducted by a
laboratory that has been accredited pursuant to Standard ISO/IEC 17025
of the international organization for standardization, or such other
comparable accreditation standard as the office of fire prevention and
control shall require by regulation.
(b) Such certification shall be signed by an officer of the
manufacturer and shall contain for each cigarette brand style such

information as shall be deemed necessary by the office of fire
prevention and control, including but not limited to: (i) the brand and
style; (ii) length in millimeters; (iii) circumference in millimeters;
(iv) flavor, if applicable; (v) filter or non-filter; (vi) package
description; (vii) the name, address and telephone number of the
laboratory, if different than the manufacturer that conducted the test;
(viii) the date that the testing occurred; and (ix) a notarized
statement from an officer or director of the laboratory certifying that
the cigarette meets the performance standards prescribed by the office
of fire prevention and control.
(c) If a manufacturer has certified a cigarette pursuant to this
subdivision, and thereafter makes any change to such cigarette that is
likely to alter its compliance with the fire safety standards mandated
by this section, then before such cigarette may be sold or offered for
sale in this state such manufacturer shall retest such cigarette in
accordance with the testing standards prescribed by the office of fire
prevention and control and maintain records of such retesting as
required by subdivision seven of this section. Any such altered
cigarette which does not meet the performance standard prescribed by the
office of fire prevention and control may not be sold in the state.
Copies of such written certifications shall be provided by the
certifying manufacturer to all wholesale dealers, as defined in
subdivision eight of section four hundred seventy of the tax law, and
all agents, as defined in subdivision eleven of section four hundred
seventy of the tax law. The office of fire prevention and control shall
prescribe procedures by which stamping agents, wholesale dealers or
retail dealers are notified of which cigarettes have been certified by
manufacturers as meeting the performance standards prescribed by the
office of fire prevention and control, which may include the maintenance
of a website listing certified cigarette brands and styles.
4. The fire safety standards required pursuant to subdivision two of
this section shall take effect on such date as the office of fire
prevention and control shall specify in promulgating such standards and
such date shall be the earliest practicable date by which manufacturers
of cigarettes can comply with such standards; provided, however, that
such date shall not be later than one hundred eighty days after such
standards are promulgated. On and after such date, no person or entity
shall sell in this state cigarettes that have not been certified by the
manufacturer in accordance with subdivision three of this section or
that have not been marked in the manner required by subdivision six of
this section; provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision shall
be construed to prohibit any person or entity from selling or offering
for sale cigarettes that have not been certified by the manufacturer in
accordance with subdivision three of this section and have not been
marked in the manner required by subdivision six of this section if such
cigarettes are or will be stamped for sale in another state or are
packaged for sale outside the United States.
5. a. Any wholesale dealer, as defined in subdivision eight of section
four hundred seventy of the tax law, or any agent, as defined in
subdivision eleven of section four hundred seventy of the tax law, or
any other person or entity who knowingly sells or offers to sell
cigarettes in violation of subdivision four of this section shall be
subject to a civil penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars for each
pack of such cigarettes sold or offered for sale provided that in no
case shall the penalty against any wholesale dealer exceed one hundred
thousand dollars for sales or offers to sell during any thirty day
period. Any retail dealer, as defined in subdivision nine of section
four hundred seventy of the tax law, who knowingly sells or offers to

sell cigarettes in violation of subdivision four of this section shall
be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars for each
pack of such cigarettes sold or offered for sale, provided that in no
case shall the penalty against any retail dealer exceed twenty-five
thousand dollars for sales or offers to sell during any thirty day
period. Any person engaged in the business of selling cigarettes in or
for shipment into New York who possesses cigarettes that have not been
certified or marked in accordance with the requirements of this section
shall be deemed to be offering such cigarettes for sale in New York. An
agent licensed in more than one state may rebut such presumption by
establishing: (i) that such cigarettes have been physically segregated
from cigarettes offered for sale in New York; and (ii) no New York tax
stamps have been placed on any cigarettes that have not been certified
or marked in accordance with this section. In addition to any penalties
imposed by this section the commissioner of taxation and finance, after
an opportunity for a hearing has been afforded pursuant to subdivision
five of section four hundred eighty of the tax law, shall suspend for
six months the license of any agent issued pursuant to section four
hundred seventy-two of the tax law, the license of any wholesale dealer
issued pursuant to section four hundred eighty of the tax law, or the
registration of any retail dealer issued pursuant to section four
hundred eighty-a of the tax law, when such agent, wholesale dealer or
retail dealer violates this section three or more times within a three
year period, provided such violations occurred on at least three
separate calendar days.
b. In addition to any penalty prescribed by law, any corporation,
partnership, sole proprietor, limited partnership, association or any
other business entity engaged in the manufacture of cigarettes that
knowingly makes a false certification pursuant to subdivision three of
this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of at least
seventy-five thousand dollars and not to exceed two hundred fifty
thousand dollars for each such false certification, and any entity that
fails to pay a civil penalty imposed pursuant to this paragraph within
thirty days after such penalty is imposed, shall be subject to a bar
from selling cigarettes covered by that false certification in this
state until the state receives full payment of such penalty.
c. There is hereby established in the custody of the state comptroller
a special fund to be known as the "Cigarette Fire Safety Act Fund". Such
fund shall consist of all moneys recovered from the assessment of civil
penalties authorized by this subdivision. Such monies shall be deposited
to the credit of the fund and shall, in addition to any other moneys
made available for such purpose, be available to the office of fire
prevention and control for the purpose of fire safety and prevention
programs. All payments from the cigarette fire safety act fund shall be
made on the audit and warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers
certified and submitted by the state fire administrator.
6. No cigarettes shall be distributed, sold or offered for sale in
this state unless the manufacturer has placed on each individual package
the letters "FSC" which signifies Fire Standards Compliant. Such letters
shall appear in eight point type and be permanently printed, stamped,
engraved or embossed on the package at or near the UPC Code, if present.
Any package containing such symbol is deemed to be in compliance with
the office of fire prevention and control regulations set forth in 19
NYCRR 429.8.
7. a. Each manufacturer shall maintain copies of the reports of all
tests conducted on all cigarettes for a period of three years, and shall
make copies of such reports available to the office of fire prevention
and control and the attorney general upon written request; provided,

however, that any manufacturer that fails to make copies of such reports
available within sixty days of receiving such a written request shall be
subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars for each
day after the sixtieth day that such manufacturer does not make such
copies available and shall be subject to a bar from selling or offering
to sell cigarettes in New York until such copies are made available.
b. Testing performed or sponsored by the office of fire prevention and
control in order to determine a cigarette's compliance with the fire
safety standards mandated by this section shall be conducted (i) in
accordance with the requirements applicable to manufacturers pursuant to
the regulations of the office of fire prevention and control, and (ii)
by a laboratory that has been accredited pursuant to Standard ISO/IEC
17025 of the international organization for standardization or such
other comparable accreditation standard as the office of fire prevention
and control shall require by regulation.
8. a. To enforce the provisions of this section, the commissioner of
taxation and finance and the state fire administrator may take
administrative action imposing the civil penalties and suspensions
authorized by subdivision five of this section. In addition, the
attorney general may bring an action on behalf of the people of the
state of New York to enjoin acts in violation of this section and to
recover any civil penalties unless civil penalties have been previously
recovered in such administrative proceedings.
b. Any enforcement officer as defined in section thirteen hundred
ninety-nine-t of the public health law shall have the power to impose
upon any retail dealer the civil penalties authorized by subdivision
five of this section, following a hearing conducted in the same manner
as hearings conducted under article thirteen-E of the public health law.
c. To enforce the provisions of this section, the commissioner of
taxation and finance and the state fire administrator, or their duly
authorized representatives, are hereby authorized to examine the books,
papers, invoices and other records of any person in possession, control
or occupancy of any premises where cigarettes are placed, stored, sold
or offered for sale, as well as the stock of cigarettes in any such
premises. Every person in the possession, control or occupancy of any
premises where cigarettes are placed, sold or offered for sale, is
hereby directed and required to give the commissioner of taxation and
finance and the state fire administrator, and their duly authorized
representatives, the means, facilities and opportunity for such
examinations as are herein provided for and required.
d. Whenever any police officer designated in section 1.20 of the
criminal procedure law or a peace officer designated in subdivision four
and subdivision seventy-nine pertaining to the Office of Fire Prevention
and Control, of section 2.10 of such law, acting pursuant to his or her
special duties, shall discover any cigarettes which have not been marked
in the manner required by subdivision six of this section, such officer
is hereby authorized and empowered to seize and take possession of such
cigarettes. Such seized cigarettes shall be turned over to the
commissioner of taxation and finance, and shall be forfeited to the
state. Cigarettes seized pursuant to this section shall be destroyed.
e. The commissioner of the division of homeland security and emergency
services, in consultation with the state fire administrator, and the
commissioner of taxation and finance are hereby authorized to promulgate
such regulations as are deemed necessary to implement the provisions of
this section.