Death by Fires from Un-extinguished Cigarettes

One of the many dangers associated with tobacco cigarettes derives from the negligence of its users to properly dispose of them when they are through smoking them. Often times, people fail to completely extinguish their cigarette before tossing it out the window of their car, throwing it in the nearby garbage can, tossing it in the shrubs nearby, or even falling asleep in bed without putting it out. Unfortunately, such acts can have devastating affects if the cigarette winds up in a spot in which it can ignite nearby items resulting in a fire.

An article written in the USA Today states that "Cigarette fires have been the top cause of U.S. fire fatalities for decades, killing tens of thousands of people in the past 30 years, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a research group that provides data for state and federal fire codes." So cigarettes are not just "a cause" for fire related fatalities, but the
'top cause. " The unfortunate part is that all these fires could have easily been prevented had the user simply been sure to completely extinguish his\her cigarette when through.

The article then notes that "Nationwide, nearly one in 10 fatal building fires begin with a cigarette and end with the death of a senior citizen." Now it does not dictate whether it was the senior citizens cigarette that caused the fire or if it was from some other person who improperly disposed of their cigarette near the senior citizens' residence. Senior citizens fall victim to these fires more often most likely due to their inability to move quickly and escape the fire. So however the fire was started, the outcome is devastating.

It unfortunately is easy to find stories of cigarette related fires which destroyed homes and possibly took the lives of its inhabitants. Just in my area, I was able to find several stories with a quick Google search of fires caused by cigarettes. Fire #1 | Fire #2 | Fire #3

While many states are pushing to pass laws which prevent cigarette sales unless they are of the fire-safe variety, also known as RIP (reduced ignition propensity) cigarettes, they hazards of them creating fires are still not completely gone. While they are up to 75% less likely to start a fire than a normal cigarette, if they end up un-extinguished in the wrong spot, they can still start a fire.

However, there is another cigarette product that can completely eliminate the threat of starting a fire. This product is the Electronic Cigarette. With the electronic cigarette, there is no need to ever extinguish anything because there is no flame at all associated with it. The electronic cigarette (E-Cig) utilizes a battery, atomizer, and a nicotine cartridge in order to deliver the nicotine to the user while smoking. There is no tobacco leaf and no combustion, so there is no fire hazard. Being that there is no tobacco, there are also a number of other benefits to the Electronic Cigarette.

As you can see, these dangers are real and they claim countless lives each year which could have been easily prevented. So if you are a smoker or know someone who smokes, please be extremely careful with your cigarettes and be sure to fully extinguish them when you are through smoking. Or, even better, buy yourself an Electronic Cigarette and completely eliminate your risk of starting a fire. The choice is yours!