Folz David H, Shults Chris
Professor and Director, University of Tennessee Master of Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) Program, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Training Manager / Grants and Training Specialist UT Municipal Technical Advisory Service, Knoxville, Tennessee.
J Emerg Manag. 2017 Nov/Dec;15(6):379-389. doi: 10.5055/jem.2017.0346.
Cigarettes are a leading cause of civilian deaths in home fires. Over the last decade, state fire service leaders and allied interest groups succeeded in persuading state lawmakers to require manufacturers to sell only low-ignition strength or "fire safe" cigarettes as a strategy to reduce these fatalities and the injuries and losses that stem from them. This article examines whether the states' fire safe cigarette laws actually helped to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce the incidence of home fires ignited by cigarettes left unattended by smokers. Controlling for the effects of key demographic, social, economic, and housing variables, this study finds that the states' fire-safe cigarette policies had significant impacts on reducing the rate of smoking-related civilian fire deaths and the incidence of fires started by tobacco products. The findings also suggest that the states' fire safe cigarette policies may have helped to reduce the rate of smoking-related fire injuries. The study shows that collective actions by leaders in the fire service across the states can result in meaningful policy change that protects lives and advances public safety even when a political consensus for action is absent at the national level.
香烟是家庭火灾中平民死亡的主要原因。在过去十年中，州消防部门领导人及相关利益集团成功说服州立法者，要求制造商仅销售低燃烧强度或“防火安全”香烟，以此作为减少此类死亡以及由其引发的伤害和损失的一项策略。本文探讨了各州的防火安全香烟法律是否真的有助于挽救生命、预防伤害以及降低因吸烟者无人看管的香烟引发家庭火灾的发生率。在控制关键人口、社会、经济和住房变量影响的情况下，本研究发现，各州的防火安全香烟政策对降低与吸烟相关的平民火灾死亡率以及烟草制品引发火灾的发生率产生了重大影响。研究结果还表明，各州的防火安全香烟政策可能有助于降低与吸烟相关的火灾伤害率。该研究表明，即使在国家层面缺乏行动的政治共识，各州消防部门领导人的集体行动也能带来有意义的政策变革，从而保护生命并促进公共安全。
