DANVERS - To Mike Bissel and Pete Baxer of Beverly, the new self-extinguishing, fire-safe cigarettes meant to prevent killer house fires are a pain in the butt to smoke.

They go out if you don't take a drag on them for a few minutes, they taste harsh and they burn lungs, the smokers said.

"If you don't constantly inhale on the cigarette, it will extinguish itself," said Bissel, 56, who along with Baxer works for Inkcups Now, a pad- and screen-printing supply company in downtown Danvers.

"Unless you are a power smoker, it goes out," said Baxer, 40.

A state law went into effect Tuesday that requires retailers to sell only fire-safe cigarettes. The law has some North Shore fire officials pleased, those who sell cigarettes nonchalant and smokers left fuming out in the cold.

"I think they are harsher than what they used to be," said James Mello, 25, of Gloucester, another Inkcups employee on a break yesterday. "And they are kind of a pain. They are constantly going out on you. Good idea, though."

Mello agreed the new cigarettes could prevent house fires if smokers fall asleep after lighting up.

Last year, cigarettes caused two house fires in Boxford that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, but no serious injuries or loss of life.

"I think it's a wonderful thing, absolutely," Boxford fire Chief Kerry Stickney said of the new law. "There are a lot of towns around, not just us, that have had trouble with the cigarettes."

The law passed in 2006 but went into effect Jan. 1. It requires merchants to start selling fire-safe cigarettes, but they will be allowed to burn through their inventory of noncompliant cigarettes.

On Jan. 1, Massachusetts and Maine became the 23rd and 24th states to require such cigarettes be sold. New Hampshire, New York, California and Vermont already had the requirement.

Smoking is the leading causes of deadly house fires, according to the state Department of Fire Services, which says about 32 percent of fire fatalities in homes in 2006 were caused by someone lighting up.

The so-called "low-ignition" cigarettes work because they have a "lowered permeability" paper that makes them less likely to start a fire.

"They are less likely to ignite materials around them," said Donna Nelson, spokeswoman for the state Department of Fire Services. She warned smokers they are not totally foolproof.

"The cigarettes are still lit, but hopefully they will go out before they cause further damage," Nelson said.

The long lead time between when the bill passed and when the law took effect gave tobacco companies enough time to get them on the shelves.

"If you are a smoker, you have already noticed there was a change and there is this supply," Nelson said.

Russell Harden, a clerk at the Danvers News Store in Danvers Square, had to check a pack before he found the "FSC" mark above the bar code showing these were fire-safe cigarettes. He said stores have no control over their supply.

"I think it's something in the wholesalers, and it trickles down to the stores," Harden said.

"There is no change from my point of view," said Mike Allen, owner of the Red Lion Smoke Shop on Washington Street, who said his cigarette sales have gone up in smoke, with customers fleeing over the border to New Hampshire because of the Bay State's tobacco taxes.

Allen said he likes the idea to prevent fatal fires with the cigarettes.

"When people smoke in bed, bad things happen," Allen said.

"The concept is a good idea," Danvers Deputy fire Chief Kevin Farrell said. "They haven't been out long enough to see if they can do what they are going to do."

Bissel said the fire-safe cigarettes have prompted him to think about kicking the habit.

However, if he travels to a state that does not sell fire-safe cigarettes, he stocks up on the originals.

"It's probably a good law," Bissel said. "Cigarettes aren't really good for you, anyway."