Smoking Safety Tips

Whenever it is possible - you should always choose to smoke outside. Most home fires caused by smoking materials start inside the home.

The Facts:

Smoking is the number one cause of home fire deaths in the United States.

Every year, men, women and children are killed in home fires caused by cigarettes and other smoking materials. Most victims of smoking-related fires never thought it could happen to them. These fires can affect not only the smoker, but others living in or next to the home at the time of the fire.

Did you know:

• About 1,000 people are killed every year from smoking material home fires.
• People close to where a smoking material fire starts are harder to save, because the fire spreads fast.
• Most fires caused by smoking materials start on beds, furniture, or in trash.

Of the fatal victims who were not the smokers:

• Thirty-four percent were children of the smokers.
• Twenty-five percent were neighbors or friends of the smokers.
• One in four people killed in home fires is not the smoker whose cigarettes caused the fire.

Action Steps:

If You Smoke, Smoke Outside

• Most home fires caused by smoking materials start inside the home. It’s better to smoke outside.
• If you smoke outside, put your cigarettes out in a can filled with sand.

Wherever You Smoke, Use Deep, Sturdy Ashtrays

• Use ashtrays with a wide, stable base that are hard to tip over. If it wobbles, it won’t work.
• Ashtrays should be set on something sturdy and hard to ignite, like a table.

Make Sure Cigarettes and Ashes are Out

• Put It Out. All the Way. Every Time.
• The cigarette really needs to be completely stubbed out in the ashtray.
• Soak cigarette butts and ashes in water before throwing them away.
• Never toss hot cigarette butts or ashes in the trash.

Check for Butts

• Chairs and sofas catch on fire fast and burn fast. Don’t put ashtrays on them.
• If people have been smoking in the home, check for cigarettes under cushions.

Never Smoke in a Home Where Oxygen is Used

• Never smoke while using oxygen or are anywhere near an oxygen source, even if it is turned off. Oxygen can be explosive and makes fire burn hotter and faster.

If You Smoke, Fire-Safe Cigarettes are Better

• Fire-safe cigarettes are less likely to cause fires.
• These cigarettes have banded paper that can slow the burn of a cigarette that isn’t being used.

Be Alert

• To prevent a deadly fire, you have to be alert.
• If you are sleepy, have been drinking, or have taken medicine that makes you drowsy, put your cigarette out first. Smoking in bed is just plain wrong.

GENERAL FIRE SAFETY FACTS:

• Place properly installed and maintained smoke alarms on every level of your home.
• Get smoke alarms that can sound fast for both a fire that has flames, and a smoky fire that has fumes without flames. They are called “Dual Sensor Smoke Alarms.”
• Check smoke alarm batteries at least once every year. You can use a familiar date such as when you change your clocks or your birthday as a reminder.
• Create an escape plan. Plan two ways to escape from every room. Practice the escape plan with everyone in the home.
• If at all possible, install residential fire sprinklers in your home.

Content source: United States Fire Administration