TSA to allow lighters on planes - 8/4/2007

[Jimmie the Mum]

From CigarCyclopedia

Los Angeles, July 30 – It’s safe to say that the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration isn’t the most popular agency in the government.

For smokers, the TSA’s war against lighters has been irritating if not tragic. And now it is almost over.

The TSA announced that “In an effort to concentrate resources on detecting explosive threats, TSA will no longer ban common lighters in carry-on luggage starting August 4, 2007.”

After two years and four months of being the only country in the world that bans standard lighters from carry-on luggage, the TSA has finally given up. Its announcement noted “Lifting the lighter ban is consistent with TSA’s risk-based approach to aviation security. First and foremost, lighters no longer pose a significant threat. Freeing security officers up from fishing for 22,000 lighters every day (the current number surrendered daily across the country) enables them to focus more on finding explosives, using behavior recognition, conducting random screening procedures and other measures that increase complexity in the system, deterring terrorists.”

Translation: the TSA never should have banned “common” lighters like the famous Zippo Pocket Lighter (pictured) or the inexpensive Djeep in the first place.

But there was plenty of damage done while it did. The TSA released a list of the top items it required passengers to give up in 2006:

• Lighters: 11,616,217.

• Knives and Blades: 1,607,014.

• Dangerous Items (unspecified): 74,665.

• Clubs and Bats: 12,295.

No, the TSA is not about to pay damages to the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of travelers who lost lighters during security checks.

The removal of the lighter ban on carry-on luggage does not apply, however, to torch lighters, which must still be carried – if at all – in checked baggage in a vapor-locked carrier such as the Colibri TranzPack.
But at least you no longer have to fear the loss of your Davidoff or Dupont lighter at an airport

[Skipper the cigar aFISHinodo]

this is good news...

 

I wonder what happens to the 11 million lighters... I am thinking the govt rents a 200,000 sq foot warehouse to hold all this crap at a cost roughy equivelent to 7 times the value of the lighters each year, until they fogure out what to do with it all.

 

then some yokle will decide to sell them to recoup the $. So they will hold an auction that will cost the govt 2.6 million dollars and they will sell the lighters fo $45,000

[Mr Horrible]

Sounds about right.[devil]