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LONDON - Six companies will pay a maximum of 173.3 million pounds ($342.5 million) after admitting unlawful practices relating to the retail price of cigarettes in the UK, under a deal with Britain’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Japan Tobacco said its Gallaher unit had agreed to pay 93 million pounds for taking part in anti-competitive practices during 2000 to 2003, before the Tokyo-based cigarette group bought the British tobacco company in 2007.

The other five groups, all retailers, were Wal-Mart-owned Asda, First Quench, One Stop Stores (formerly called T&S Stores), Somerfield and TM Retail, a statement by the British regulator said on Friday.

A number of the six parties had previously applied to the OFT for leniency and the total penalties the groups agreed to pay, if all leniency and early resolution discounts are given, is 132.2 million pounds, rather that the pre-discount penalties total of 173.3 million pounds, the OFT said.

The OFT did not say when a final decision on the level of fines would be taken.

The regulator added that supermarket group Sainsbury Plc was the first to apply to the OFT for leniency and will receive complete immunity if it continues to co-operate.

Investigations will continue against Imperial Tobacco Plc, Shell and retailers Morrisons, Morrisons-owned Safeway, Tesco and the Co-operative Group, the OFT said.

Imperial Tobacco said in a statement it had not admitted to any infringement of competition law and had not acted in any way contrary to the interests of consumers. It said it would continue to co-operate with the OFT. (Editing by Mike Elliott and David Holmes)

More people are killed in fires started by unattended cigarettes in the United States than any other kind of fire. Those numbers, however, may drop thanks to a new kind of cigarette.

They are called "fire-safe" cigarettes. Legislators are expected to pass a law that would prohibit the sale of any other kind of cigarette in Hawaii.

The latest numbers from the National Fire Protection Association show cigarettes started more than 82,400 fires in the U.S. in 2005. Those fires killed 800 people and injured more than 1,660 people.

The most common fuel for those fires … mattresses. People fall asleep in bed while smoking and some mattresses burn very quickly.

So a new generation of cigarettes has been developed.

They are called "fire-safe" cigarettes, or LIPs which stands for low ignition propensity.

"It’s a cigarette that when you don’t smoke it, you’re talking … you set it down, it’ll go out. It won’t keep burning like traditional cigarettes do," said Christopher Maxwell, who owns a store called Tobaccos of Hawaii on Atkinson Street.

LIP cigarettes are made with bands of thicker paper. Those bands act like speed bumps to slow the burn making them less likely to start fires.

If legislators pass the proposed "fire-safe" cigarette bill as expected, LIP cigarettes will be the only kind of cigarette you will be able to buy in Hawaii beginning Oct. 1, 2009.

Maxwell already sells lots of the "fire-safe" smokes.

"No one’s given me any negative feedback. There’s obviously no flavor difference. Most people don’t even know it’s going on. Virtually the entire cigarette industry is going to LIP cigarettes," Maxwell told KGMB9.

A spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department said LIP cigarettes are a step in the right direction, but smokers still need to adhere to safety rules. Never smoke in bed. Smoke outside instead of indoors. And keep matches and lighters out of sight and reach of children.