A new fire safety campaign highlighting the dangers of illicit ‘cheap white’ cigarettes such as Jin Ling has been launched in Lincolnshire.

Backed by Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, Lincolnshire Trading Standards and local resident Julie Grant, whose mother died in a fire started by Jin Ling cigarettes last year, it highlights how illicit products do not extinguish safely.

Emma Milligan, principal trading standards officer at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Jin Ling cigarettes are so dangerous because they don’t go out when not actively being smoked, potentially causing a horrendous house fire. Since 2013, we’ve seized over 138,000 illegal and counterfeit cigarettes in the county, but we recognise that we need to do more.”

Cracking down on the sale of illicit cigarettes and educating smokers of the dangers would remain a key priority, she added.

The campaign is backed with a video which shows how quickly cigarette fires can destroy homes and lives. So far, this year there have been two other smoking-related fire deaths in Lincolnshire.

Legitimate cigarettes are designed to go out if not actively smoked. The safety standard known as Reduced Ignition Propensity consists of two concentric bands of less porous paper within the cigarette paper which causes the cigarette to go out when not actively smoked.