More than 100 people die in the UK every year from cigarette fires

Anti-smoking campaigners say lives will be lost because of a delay in bringing in new self-extinguishing cigarettes.

So-called fire-safe cigarettes burn out quickly when dropped, meaning they are less likely to cause fires in the home.

They were due to be introduced across the EU later this year, but work on developing an EU standard is running at least six months behind schedule.

Deborah Arnott, of anti-smoking group Ash, said the cigarettes would mean a "significant decline" in fire deaths.

More than 100 people die in the UK every year from fires caused by cigarettes which are dropped or discarded without being extinguished.

Fire-safe cigarettes, which have barriers of flame-proof paper, meaning they burn themselves out, are already the only kind on sale in most US states and in Canada and Australia.

'Certainty needed'

The 27 EU member states gave the go-ahead in November 2007 for self-extinguishing cigarettes to be introduced.

Ms Arnott said they should be introduced by manufacturers across the EU immediately.

She added: "If they were, then basically we should see a significant decline in the number of smoking-related fires. These fires kill at least one person a day in Europe."

But Mr Ogden said such urgency would not be practical.

"If the manufacturers introduced these new cigarettes in the European market, only to be told a few months later 'No, no, that's not the standard, we want this standard', then they'd have to go through the whole process of changing the project design all over again," he said.

"So we can't make the move until we have certainty."

source: bbc.co.uk
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I was surprised with this statistic

More than 100 people die in the UK every year from cigarette fires

Wow, I've been bad about cigarettes since when I heard of it. See this? This post above? It shows proof.

Sanket wrote:I was surprised with this statistic

More than 100 people die in the UK every year from cigarette fires

I am also surprised with this

ankillien wrote:

Sanket wrote:I was surprised with this statistic

I am also surprised with this

Me too
I mean almost half of them are dead because of suicide bombers , & the rest are gonna die because of cigarettes , I don't get it why do people ignore the fact that smoking causes cancer ,
& It's not normal that I read BIG stuff like that , idk why I had some feeling that i should have a look

"If the manufacturers introduced these new cigarettes in the European market, only to be told a few months later 'No, no, that's not the standard, we want this standard', then they'd have to go through the whole process of changing the project design all over again," he said.

Okay, but if they did introduce it now and then have to change the whole process later, just think how many potential lives they could save sooner rather than later.

They should introduce it now.

I want to request to whoever reads this.
"Smoking Kills"
Forward this message & remind the message to whoever smokes near you !

My uncle makes smoking as his breakfast, lunch & dinner, too bad we can't stop him...

My dad used to smoke, now he has stopped.