English Firemen are pro-vaping

When we think about smoking risks, the first thing to come to mind is the smoker’s health. Smoking kills. However, there is another danger under that blanket of cigarette smoke: fire hazards. Forest fires are more often than not started by a lit cigarette dropped carelessly by a smoker.Or deliberately for the pyromaniacs.

This year’s Stoptober event, a vast smoking-cessation awareness campaign throughout the UK, has seen London’s firemen taking a stand on this hot topic.

The London Fire Brigade was blunt when citing statistics on the causes of recorded fires over the past three years: 3,580 fires due to cigarettes, that is to say more than 3 per day. E-cigarettes on the other hand? A grand total of 15 fires started over the past 3 years, yet another argument in favour of vaping.

Tobacco: 3,580 fires started in 3 years

As stated by Dan Daly, Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety at the London Fire Brigade, while there are four times as many cigarette smokers as there are vaping enthusiasts in Britain, the rate of fires caused by tobacco products is 250 times higher than those caused by e-cigarettes. The firemen also added that, “according to our latest figures, smoking is the cause of over half of fire deaths in the home”. When it comes to vaping, Daly stated that “the Brigade has no recorded deaths or injuries due to vaping equipment catching fire.”

With this in mind, the London Fire Brigade has endorsed e-cigarette usage, recommending it that smokers switch to vaping:

“It’s clear that quitting tobacco is not only good for your health but it can also save you from a devastating fire in your home.”

However this does not dispense vaping enthusiasts from taking the necessary precautions, for example never to leave their e-cigarette on charge when they are away or asleep.