Tags: Health News
Reductions in Smoking Show Promise for Reducing Home Fire Deaths
Home fire deaths are higher in states that have a greater percentage of smokers, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study published this month in the journal Injury Prevention. If smoking at home is reduced or stopped, fewer residential fire deaths may result, the study said.
Smoking is the leading cause of home fire deaths and accounts for approximately one quarter of the 3,000 home fire deaths in the United States each year. Quitting smoking, as well as following fire safety recommendations related to smoking, can help reduce the risk of cigarette-related home fire deaths. For free telephone-based counseling from anywhere in the United States, smokers can call 1-800-QUIT-NOW, a national number that connects people to their state-based quit line.
This study is the first to use national data to look at the percentage of current smokers and home fire deaths in the District of Columbia and all U.S. states except Hawaii. Nationally, an estimated 21 percent of adults smoked in 2004, with state averages ranging from 11 percent (Utah) to 28 percent (Kentucky). In that year, an estimated 2,804 individuals died in home fires, or nearly one death per 100,000 people in the United States.
“Our study suggests that even modest reductions in overall smoking rates may save lives. In fact, quitting smoking is the most important step smokers can take to improve their overall health and that of their loved ones. People who do smoke should smoke outside the house to help protect themselves and their families from home fires and exposure to secondhand smoke, a known human carcinogen,” said Shane Diekman, Ph.D., M.P.H., a behavioral scientist at CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
People who continue to smoke can reduce the risk of indoor fires by adopting strict smoke-free home rules; using deep, sturdy ashtrays securely set on tables; dousing cigarette and cigar butts in water or extinguishing with sand before dumping in the trash; and never smoking in bed or leaving burning cigarettes unattended. And everyone can reduce their risk of being harmed in a residential fire by making sure to have a working smoke alarm at home and testing that alarm regularly to make sure it is working.
“Home fire deaths have declined during the past several decades, and this decline has paralleled reductions in smoking,” said Ileana Arias, Ph.D., director of CDC’s Injury Center. “We work hard to keep our homes safe, and it just makes good sense to help people understand that if they can change their smoking habits, we may continue to reduce these tragedies.”
The study used CDC’s Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data.
For more information about CDC’s injury prevention efforts, please link to http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/fire.htm. For a copy of this study, please link to Injury Prevention’s website at: http://press.psprings.co.uk/ip/august/228_ip17004.pdf
EDITORS NOTE: If you need high resolution photos and broadcast-quality B-roll footage of fire safety and prevention measures, please go to FireSafety.gov. This website is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and includes royalty free images and video, current statistics, and fire prevention tips.
CDC is attaching the state listing for reporters. Note: this is not included in the study, but can also be found on CDC’s website at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/fire.htm.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
State-level Smoking and Residential Fire Death Rates - 2004 - CDC
State Deaths Population Crude % Smoking
Rate
Alabama 76 4501862 1.68 24.9
Alaska 8 648510 1.22 24.8
Arizona 24 5577784 0.42 18.5
Arkansas 61 2726166 2.22 25.6
California 187 35456602 0.52 14.8
Colorado 15 4548071 0.33 20
Connecticut 26 3485881 0.74 18.1
Delaware 10 817827 1.2 24.4
District of
Columbia 11 557846 1.98 20.9
Florida 123 16993369 0.71 20.2
Georgia 132 8746849 1.48 20
Idaho 11 1368111 0.79 17.4
Illinois 121 12649940 0.95 22.2
Indiana 92 6196269 1.48 24.9
Iowa 28 2941362 0.95 20.8
Kansas 28 2724224 1.02 19.8
Kentucky 59 4116780 1.42 27.5
Louisiana 89 4490380 1.97 23.5
Maine 6 1308245 0.46 21
Maryland 62 5512477 1.11 19.5
Massachusetts 30 6417565 0.47 18.5
Michigan 112 10078146 1.11 23.3
Minnesota 21 5061662 0.41 20.7
Mississippi 79 2880793 2.72 24.5
Missouri 87 5718717 1.51 24.1
Montana 11 917885 1.19 20.4
Nebraska 14 1738013 0.8 20.3
Nevada 10 2241700 0.43 23.2
New Hampshire 11 1287594 0.85 21.7
New Jersey 45 8640028 0.52 18.8
New Mexico 23 1879252 1.21 20.3
New York 139 19228031 0.72 19.9
North Carolina 108 8422375 1.26 23.1
North Dakota 5 633051 0.79 19.9
Ohio 97 11431748 0.85 25.9
Oklahoma 59 3504917 1.67 26.1
Oregon 32 3562681 0.89 20
Pennsylvania 145 12364930 1.17 22.7
Rhode Island 4 1075729 0.37 21.3
South Carolina 88 4146753 2.1 24.3
South Dakota 13 764599 1.69 20.3
Tennessee 88 5841585 1.49 26.2
Texas 176 22099136 0.78 20.5
Utah 10 2378696 0.41 10.5
Vermont 0 619092 0 20
Virginia 109 7383387 1.46 20.8
Washington 41 6131131 0.66 19.2
West Virginia 29 1810347 1.6 26.9
Wisconsin 48 5471792 0.87 21.9
Wyoming 1 501915 0.2 21.7
Total 2804 293656842 0.96 20.9
CONTACT: CDC Injury Center Media Relations, +1-770-488-4902, CDC Office on Smoking and Health, +1-770-488-5493
/PRNewswire-USNewswire — Aug. 8/
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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