Overview
EN ISO 12863:2022 (ISO 12863:2022) is the CEN-adopted international test method for assessing the ignition propensity of cigarettes. The standard defines a laboratory procedure to determine whether a factory-made cigarette will extinguish or generate enough heat to continue burning and potentially ignite bedding or upholstered furniture. It is a performance-based method that does not prescribe cigarette design features; instead it measures outcomes that have been correlated with real-world ignition risk.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Scope and applicability: Applicable to factory-made cigarettes that burn along the length of a tobacco column. Focus is on ignition propensity related to soft furnishings.
- General principle: A cigarette is positioned on one of three standard substrates and observed to determine whether it extinguishes or continues to burn and transfer sufficient heat to the substrate.
- Apparatus and components: Test chamber and conditioning facilities, substrate holder, metal rim, cigarette holder, cigarette ignition system, exhaust hood and environmental controls are specified to ensure repeatable results.
- Conditioning and handling: Procedures for cigarette sampling, handling, storage and conditioning of both cigarettes and filter-paper substrates are included to control test variability.
- Verification and calibration: Requirements for verification of test equipment, chamber leakage checks, atmosphere stability, and sensor performance to maintain test integrity.
- Test procedure and reporting: Stepwise test conduct, recording requirements and standardized test reporting are provided to ensure consistent interpretation and traceability.
- Annexes: Normative and informative annexes cover technical drawings, substrate selection, substrate physical parameters (Annex G), repeatability and reproducibility, ignition susceptibility of substrates, and use of semi-/fully-automated testing systems.
Applications and who uses it
- Cigarette manufacturers - for product development, quality control and assessing reduced-ignition-propensity designs without being told how to design them.
- Independent testing laboratories - to provide accredited ignition-propensity test results for compliance and certification.
- Regulators and standards bodies - to define performance requirements and evaluate product conformity related to fire safety of consumer products.
- Fire safety researchers and insurers - for studies linking cigarette ignition behavior to furniture and bedding fire risk and for risk assessment.
- Public health and consumer safety organizations - for evaluating interventions that reduce fire-caused injuries and fatalities.
Related standards and provenance
- EN ISO 12863:2022 supersedes the 2010 edition and incorporates prior amendments. It is based with permission on ASTM E2187 (Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes). Annex G adds guidance on physical parameters of filter paper substrates used for the determination of ignition propensity.
Keywords: EN ISO 12863:2022, ISO 12863:2022, ignition propensity of cigarettes, cigarette ignition test, reduced ignition propensity, upholstered furniture fire safety, cigarette burn test.
