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Children have a natural fascination with fire. This fascination, combined with access to cigarette lighters, however, can result in tragedy.
Cigarette lighters, especially the disposable ones, do fascinate many children. They're colorful, fit easily in their small hands, have wheels that turn and emit sparks, and produce a small flame.
Parents may mistakenly assume that their children are too young to use a lighter. The U.S. Fire Administration reports that 200 deaths per year are associated with fires started by cigarette lighters. Approximately 140 of the fire deaths are caused by children playing with these lighters and of those 200 deaths, 125 are children under the age of five.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the risk of death or injury among children is higher from cigarette lighters than from matches. It is easier for a two- or three-year-old to roll the lighter on the carpet than it is to strike matches in order to create a fire.
In response to these alarming figures, the Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered manufacturers of butane lighters to make virtually all of them child-resistant. The new safety regulations require that lighters be designed so that most children under the age of five are unable to operate the lighter. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that the new, child-resistant designs will prevent 60% of the deaths associated with young children who play with lighters.
While new government safety standards will make new lighters safer for small children, there are hundreds of millions of less safe lighters in our homes. These lighters still pose a risk of serious injury or death for children.
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