The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned about the increment of fires caused by the misuse of e-cigarette and has urged to this device manufacturers to place greater emphasis on their warning campaigns about their risks.
Fire services have detected a significant increase of fire incidents caused by e-cigarette in the last two years, during which fires have gone up from 8 in 2012 to 43 in 2013 and 62 so far this year.
Incidents occur once every week
According to the Local Association, firefighters answer at least one call weekly regarding e-cigarette incidents, a substitute for tobacco which works with nicotine vapour and is used in the UK by 2,1 million people.
One of the main fire causes is the use of inadequate battery chargers for these devices, which usually get burnt or explode. For that reason, the Local Government Association wants e-cigarette manufacturers to include labels on the device that illustrate clearly the main risks of it.
Councillor Jeremy Hilton, head of LGA fire services committee, pointed that fire related to e-cigarette misuse “The spiralling upward trend of fires connected with e-cigarettes is a major cause for concern and much more needs to be done to combat it”.
Mr Hilton warned that a new increase of these incidents is expected as more smokers decide to start using e-cigarette. He also claimed the need of manufacturers including clear, prominent and graphic warnings that clarify users the risks of charging their e-cigarettes with incompatible chargers.
Photo courtesy of www.ecigclick.co.uk