No matter whether you smoke cigars, delight in a pipe or prefer smoking cigarettes, you will need a good lighter. Quite a few manufactures have decided to make the move to the Internet and now offer easy access to options such as Nibo lighters and many other quality brands out there. However, if you decide to purchase a lighter online (or through a paper catalog), you’ll need to answer a few questions first. One of the most commonly asked questions is if your new lighter will come prefilled with butane.

Sadly, you will not find lighters for sale that come with butane in the fuel reservoir. Federal law does not permit manufacturers to do this for a number of reasons. First, butane is a very flammable substance. If the package were subjected to high temperatures, which is a common occurrence in the shipping industry, the fuel could ignite, catching fire to the package, other packages and even causing harm to the person handling the packages or the facility, itself.

Second, butane can pose a threat if it leaks without igniting. This fuel is technically a noxious gas and, as such, can pose serious health problems to those working with and handling the packages. If the case were to become cracked and the fuel to escape during shipping, in addition to the threat of fire, there’s the threat posed by inhaling the fumes. This is obviously a poor situation for those carrying such packages and must be avoided. Thus, the government prohibits the shipment of lighters prefilled with butane.

Of course, there are ways to circumvent the problem. The most obvious one is to have a canister of butane on hand when the lighter arrives. This way, you are able to fill the lighter immediately, allow the fuel to come to room temperature and then begin using it almost immediately. You’ll need to know a few things before you rush out and purchase any butane, though and you’ll need to inspect the manufacturer’s supplemental documentation for it.

For instance, what type of butane do you need? What type of fuel filling nozzle is the lighter equipped with? Most of these are a standard design, to ensure they fit with almost every butane canister, but you cannot take chances. Find out the answers to these questions, purchase the type of butane specified by the maker and you’ll be able to light up shortly after your lighter arrives.