Smoking

Smoking Material Fires Cause 1,000 Deaths a Year

The best advice we can give is to just stop smoking. But this isn’t a health and fitness site, so the next best piece of advice is to not smoke in the house.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, almost 1,000 people are killed in home fires caused by either cigarettes or other smoking materials. It’s important to remember that the little glowing nub at the end of a cigarette carries the same potential as a glowing ember in your BBQ and a match flipped away without being extinguished and can be as lethal as a flame thrower.

Here are some tips from the U.S. Fire Administration:

• Use deep, sturdy ashtrays. When you empty those ashtrays, flush the butts and ashes down the toilet or dump them in a metal container. A cigarette that has not been fully extinguished can be lethal if that ashtray is emptied in a wastebasket filled with combustible materials.
• Use the same precautions when you smoke outdoors. Dried leaves and grass are even more combustible than paper or upholstery.
• Make sure cigarettes and matches are not left smoldering. Keep those matches and lighters out of the reach of small children. It’s a strange quirk of life that children are often better at getting through child-proof products than their parents, so don’t rely on a child-safe lighter actually being child-safe.
• Never smoke in a home where oxygen is used.

Tagged as: Smoking, smoking and home fire safety