Citation

Kegler SR, Dellinger AM, Ballesteros MF, Tsai J. J. Saf. Res. 2018; 67: 197-201.

Affiliation

Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC, United States of America.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, U.S. National Safety Council, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jsr.2018.06.001

PMID

30553424

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Each year from 1999 through 2015, residential fires caused between 2,000 and 3,000 deaths in the U.S., totaling approximately 45,000 deaths during this period. A disproportionate number of such deaths are attributable to smoking in the home. This study examines national trends in residential fire death rates, overall and smoking-related, and their relationship to adult cigarette smoking prevalence, over this same period.

METHODS: Summary data characterizing annual U.S. residential fire deaths and annual prevalence of adult cigarette smoking for the years 1999-2015, drawn from the National Vital Statistics System, the National Fire Protection Association, and the National Health Interview Survey were used to relate trends in overall and smoking-related rates of residential fire death to changes in adult cigarette smoking prevalence.

RESULTS: Statistically significant downward trends were identified for both the rate of residential fire death (an average annual decrease of 2.2% - 2.6%) and the rate of residential fire death attributed to smoking (an average annual decrease of 3.5%). The decreasing rate of residential fire death was strongly correlated with a gradually declining year-to-year prevalence of adult cigarette smoking (r = 0.83), as was the decreasing rate of residential fire death attributed to smoking (r = 0.80).

CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Decreasing U.S. residential fire death rates, both overall and smoking-related, coincided with a declining prevalence of adult cigarette smoking during 1999-2015. These findings further support tobacco control efforts and fire prevention strategies that include promotion of smoke-free homes. While the general health benefits of refraining from smoking are widely accepted, injury prevention represents a potential benefit that is less recognized.

Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Language: en

Keywords

Fire fatality; Home fires; Injury; Smoking