As of today passengers will no longer be allowed to bring cigarette lighters on any commercial airplane in the United States. You cannot carry them on, put them in your pocket or store them in your luggage. They simply cannot come on board the plane, period. The reason? Security.

Ever since terrorist Richard Reid tried unsuccessfully to light explosives he had hidden in his shoe, authorities have been wary of the chances that somebody may succeed where Reid failed. Reid tried to use matches to light the explosives. Authorities think a lighter might have been a better choice.

The result is likely to be that a lot of lighters will be confiscated before people get on planes.

'I'm sure we'll have a bunch of them,' said George Doughty, executive director of Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania told CNN.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon was the cosponsor of the new law. He praised it, saying, 'This is a commonsense step to protect passengers in the face of a proven threat.'

Safety matches are still permitted on planes, but that is mainly because security is unable to detect them in routine electronic searches.

Airlines have been notifying passengers now for the past 45 days that the ban is coming. However, foreigners who travel on American planes less frequently are less likely to know about the ban in advance.

Either way, the new regulation takes effect today. And while you may be getting on the plane, your lighter is not.