London Fire Brigade Demands European Action On Cigarette Fires
Fire safer cigarettes, also called - reduced ignition propensity or 'RIP' cigarettes, are cigarettes with ultra-thin bands or 'speed bumps' at intervals down the length of the cigarette. These bands cause the cigarette to go out if not 'puffed' by the smoker.
Government research[1] estimates that the introduction of these cigarettes could cut the number of fires caused by cigarettes by up to two thirds. A fire safer standard is already in force in New York State and other US states and in Canada.
Chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Val Shawcross, and senior officers from the London Fire Brigade are to visit the European Parliament today (Wednesday) to call for urgent action by the European Union on the issue.
Val Shawcross will be speaking to a hearing at the European Parliament, called by Arlene McCarthy MEP, Chairwoman of the European Parliament Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection.
At the hearing, London Fire Brigade will be giving MEPs the key facts showing the damage that cigarette fires cause:
- In 2004, fires caused by smoking materials led to 114 deaths and 1,300 non-fatal casualties in 3,500 fires across the UK
- It?s estimated that in London, around 40% of all fatalities in accidental house fires, are caused by smoking materials.
- The average cost of damage caused by a house fire is £25,500
- The number of fires caused by smokers' materials in each London Borough in 2005/6 is set out in the table below [3].
London Fire Brigade is part of a coalition of organisations including UK fire services, the Local Government Association and health campaigners who are pressing the European Commission to introduce a new fire safer standard under the General Product Safety Directive. The UK Government has also backed the call for European action [2].
Val Shawcross said: Around a third of all households include a smoker, and every year hundreds of people are killed or injured in fires caused by smoking materials.
"Introducing fire safer cigarettes could dramatically cut deaths and damage to property, not just in the Capital but across the whole of the UK and Europe.
'On behalf of the victims of fires caused by cigarettes, and the fire fighters who risk their own safety to tackle them, we are going to the European Parliament to ask the Commission and the Governments of every Member State to back urgent action.'
The standard for fire safer cigarettes is now in effect in New York and other US states and also in Canada.
[1] Comparisons of the propensity of fire safe cigarettes and conventional cigarettes to ignite textile materials used in a domestic environment: www.communities.gov.uk
[2] Sunday Times September 17, 2006: 'This weekend Angela Smith, minister for fire safety at the Department for Communities and Local Government, said: 'We think there's really strong grounds for it. Careless handling of smokers' materials continues to be one of the major causes of UK accidental fire deaths in the home.'
[3] Accidental dwellings fires - number due to smoking materials (available on request)
[4] The Hearing on Fire Safer Cigarettes is hosted by Arlene McCarthy MEP Chairwoman of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection & The EU RIP Alliance. It will take place on Wednesday 28 February from 12.30pm to 14.00pm at the European Parliament, Altiero Spinelli building, in Room ASP1H1, Rue Wiertz, Brussels.
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