Any color but yellow

Smokers don't like yellow lighters.

When someone buys cigarettes, we're always supposed to ask if they need matches or a lighter. If they want a lighter, we ask what color.

Invariably, the answer is, "Any color but yellow."

I asked some of the store old-timers about the color bias.

"Yellow lighters are bad luck. Everyone knows that."

A bit of Googling reveals that both white and yellow lighters are cursed. Some say Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix both died with white (or yellow) lighters in their pockets. Others say that the vast majority of the people busted on "Cops" have yellow lighters on their person (but no shirt?).

All I know is that Bic sends us a box of lighters with the same number of each color. That might explain the box filled with yellow rejects under the counter.