St. Petersburg, Florida - Starting January 1st, manufacturers are required to sell fire-safe cigarettes in Florida. But many smokers don't like the cigarettes, which burn out when left unattended.
"90 percent of the people in this store don't like them," said Phil Kassis, owner of PK's Food Store on Haines Road North in St. Petersburg.
"They say they taste bad and make them sick or nauseous."
Some smokers claim the cigarettes cause headaches and nausea and contain dangerous chemicals. But according to the Coalition for Fire Safe Cigarettes, they're no more harmful than regular cigarettes.
Critics argue that cigarettes are harmful anyway, and fire-safe cigarettes have an added bonus of putting themselves out when not in use. Fire-safe standards require the cigarettes burn out 75 percent of the time when not in active use.
"Fire retardant? I just want to know what they're really putting in there, and when it'll have an effect on my health," said Tom Frank.
Some smokers like the change. One woman in PK's Food Store said the fire-safe cigarettes last longer than regular cigarettes because they stop burning when they're not being smoked.
"It's an added bonus," she said.
10 Connects tested a fire-safe cigarette and found it took about four minutes to completely burn out.
Fire-safe cigarettes packs are marked with "FSC" near the product barcode.
Janie Porter, 10 Connects