Is This About Safety or Smoking? 

Starting today, lighters are banned on airplanes... not just on your person, or in carry-on baggage... you can't even have them in checked baggage:

TSA has added all lighters to its Prohibited Items List which means they will be prohibited past the security checkpoints at the nation’s airports. Lighters will be treated as any other prohibited item and passengers will be asked to surrender them to the TSA, return them to their vehicle or leave them with someone who is not traveling.

As in the past, lighters are still considered hazardous materials and thus are not allowed in checked baggage.

You can't even have them checked in your bag? I know... they're probably bringing lighters in line with the other hazardous materials you can't even have checked... right? Wrong. Here is a short list of things that you are allowed to put in checked baggage... because they aren't nearly as dangerous as lighters: Ammunition, Firearms, Axes, Mace, Martial Arts Weapons, Stun Guns, Throwing Stars.

Why do I get the impression that this has nothing to do with airline safety, and everything to do with people's hatred of smokers?