The Impact of Reduced Fire Risk Cigarettes Regulation on Residential Fire Incidents, Mortality and Health Service Utilisation in New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

Smoking materials are a common ignition source for residential fires. In Australia, reduced fire risk (RFR) cigarettes regulation was implemented in 2010. However, the impact of this regulation on residential fires is unknown. This paper examines the impact of the RFR cigarettes regulation on the severity and health outcomes of fire incidents in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, from 2005 to 2014. Fire department data from 2005 to 2014 were linked with ambulance, emergency department, hospital, outpatient burns clinic and mortality datasets for NSW. Negative binomial regression analysis was performed to assess the changes to fire incidents’ severity pre- and post-RFR cigarettes regulation. There was an 8% reduction in total fire incidents caused by smokers’ materials post-RFR cigarettes regulation. Smokers’ materials fire incidents that damaged both contents and structure of the building, where fire flames extended beyond the room of fire origin, with over AUD 1000 monetary damage loss, decreased by 18, 22 and 12%, respectively. RFR cigarettes regulation as a fire risk mitigation has positively impacted the residential fire incident outcomes. This provides support for regulation of fire risk protective measures and bestows some direction for other fire safety policies and regulations.