You’ve probably heard about all of the benefits and savings that electronic cigarettes bring with them, but one number you might not have heard is pretty astounding. Fire-related health costs coming from fires started by matches or people falling asleep with cigarettes in bed amounts to a $420 million savings were everyone to switch over to the fire less electronic cigarette.
If this number is any indicator of the lives lost in these fires, than vaping are saving more than just money—they’re saving lives.
Electronic Cigarettes and Fire-related Accidents
The fact of the matter is that when it comes to fire safety, electronic cigarettes are a safe alternative to anything similar because they don’t require actual fire to use. Smoking is the number one cause of residential fire fatalities in the United States. According to fire officials, this beats out other common causes of household fires such as cooking, clutter, faulty wiring, portable heaters and unattended candles.
The numbers don’t lie. In a 2016 report from the United States Fire Administration (USFA), it was reported that only 2081 of all deaths from fire were started in homes and apartments from smoking traditional cigarettes. From people falling asleep in bed with their cigarettes to kids getting a hold of lighters and matches—it’s not that it’s safer to smoke e cigs, it’s that it’s smarter.
Taking the number one cause of death out of the hands of careless people and innocent children is not a good thing—it’s a great thing. By removing the need for matches and lighters being used or being left lying around, e cigs are generating a positive contribution towards saving human lives—and money.
It’s estimated that the cost of fire related injuries comes in at just over $7.5 billion annually. This breaks down into some scary numbers. For fatal injuries, the annual cost is $3 billion each year (not to mention the life lost). Another $1 billion goes to injuries which require hospitilzation—this isn’t even taking into account extended stays and rehabilitation costs that can be life-long. Another $3 billion goes for injury treatment that doesn’t require hospitalization.
Switching to Electronic Cigarettes
Of course, none of this takes into account the emotional and physical scarring that a fire can cause. Add to that equation the fact that many of these injured families are left without a home—if they’re left with their lives—and it’s easy to see why e cigs are the smarter solution for smokers.
Because e cigs don’t use fire, they don’t create smoke or ash. Any discarded electronic cigarette will simply not cause a fire. You don’t need lighters, you don’t need matches—e cigarettes run on batteries. Still, the negative stigma left by smokers on fire deaths is very real. In Arkansas, where 25% of the population smokes, fire deaths are four times more likely to happen than in California, where only 15% of the population smokes. Let’s help remove the stigma from smokers.