So are all lighters allowed in checked luggage now? Or just Zippo lighters?

This week, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration instituted a temporary regulation allowing "liquid filled lighters" in checked baggage. Under the exemption, the filled lighters must not only be in checked luggage, but also kept in a "vapor-tight, hard plastic box" (we are currently figuring out how we can capitalize on this huge market opportunity).

In April, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration banned all lighters from all commercial airplanes. Passengers previously had been allowed to have two lighters in their carry-on luggage. The TSA then relaxed regulations on May 16th, allowing empty liquid fuel lighters in checked luggage.

So the question now is: does the exemption apply to butane-fueled lighters, or just Zippo? The way Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum talks about it, it sounds like it was an exemption to save the economy of Bradford, PA (where Zippo is based). If so, that is a huge slap in the face to every cigar smoker that knows that the lighter fluid in a Zippo can ruin a fine cigar. We hope the TSA has more class than that.