On November 30, 2007, 27 EU states approved a European Commission proposal which would require the tobacco industry to use fire-retardant paper in all cigarettes.

In November 2010, the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) Committee of the European Commission agreed the standard and reached the consensus that enforcement of the standard (including at the point of sale to consumers) should start “about 12 months from its publication by CEN” – this would be around 17 November 2011.

As of January 1, 2010, the fire-safe cigarette law was in effect in 43 states.