RESEARCH PAPERS

Cigarette fires and burns in a population of New Zealand smokers

J Smith¹, C Bullen², M Laugesen³, M Glover⁴

¹ Public Health Medicine Registrar, Counties Manukau District Health Board, Manukau, New Zealand
² Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
³ Health New Zealand, Christchurch, New Zealand
⁴ Social and Community Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

J Smith, Public Health Medicine Registrar, Counties Manukau District Health Board, 19 Lambie Drive, Manukau City, Private Bag 94052, South Auckland Mail Centre, Manukau 2240, New Zealand; SmithJ11{at}middlemore.co.nz

Objectives: To identify the proportion of adult cigarette smokers who have experienced cigarette-caused fires and burns and to describe smoker characteristics associated with increased risk of cigarette-caused fires and burns.

Methods: Data on cigarette-caused fires and burns were collected in the baseline questionnaire of a randomised trial of a smoking cessation intervention conducted in New Zealand between March 2006 and May 2007. Participants were adult callers to a national smoking cessation counselling service. Lifetime prevalence estimates of cigarette-caused fires and burns were obtained and associations between smoker characteristics and risk of fires and burns examined using logistic regression.

Results: Of 1097 participants in the trial at baseline, 75 (6.8%) reported past experience of 1 fires caused by cigarettes (96 fires reported in total) and 658 (60.0%) described at least 1 cigarette-caused burn. In all, 57 participants (5.2%) reported burns that required medical attention. Male sex and Mori ethnicity (indigenous New Zealanders, who comprise 15% of the national population and among whom 42% of adults are smokers) were associated with increased risk of cigarette-caused fires. Male sex, younger age, younger age of smoking initiation, being unmarried, having a partner who smoked, having a higher education level and an annual income of $20 000 or more were associated with increased risk of cigarette burn injuries.

Conclusions: The results indicate that cigarette-caused fires and burns are common among New Zealand smokers, are a source of inequality and therefore deserve greater attention from health advocates and policymakers.

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