TOBACCO firms are to be forced to introduce “self-extinguishing” cigarettes that could prevent the deaths of more than 100 people in fires each year.

The cigarettes, which have a varying thickness of paper surrounding the tobacco, extinguish themselves after a few seconds if they are not puffed.

Ministers believe the move could save scores of lives and hundreds of serious injuries. An average of 4,200 house fires annually are caused by cigarettes, killing about 120 people and injuring about 1,400, according to government figures.

Big tobacco firms have been attacked after internal industry documents emerged showing they had developed the “firesafe” cigarettes more than 20 years ago. However, they did not act on the invention because of concerns that they would be sued if fires occurred.

The British government has been pushing the European Union to introduce new standards, enforcing firesafe cigarettes across the EU. It follows the introduction of similar rules in several American states in the past two years.

This weekend Angela Smith, minister for fire safety at the Department for Communities and Local Government, said: “We think there’s really strong grounds for it. Careless handling of smokers’ materials continues to be one of the major causes of UK accidental fire deaths in the home.”

Tobacco firms are lobbying against the new cigarettes, claiming they taste different and may lull smokers into a false sense of security.

However, the move has been welcomed by fire unions and tobacco campaigners. Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “It’s an important part of improving public safety.”

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