Effectiveness of the Cigarette Ignition Propensity Standard in Preventing Unintentional Residential Fires in Massachusetts

Bibliographic Data

ID11033071
AuthorsHILLEL R ALPERT (0000-0002-4749-8606, Hillel R. Alpert, David C. Christiani, and Douglas W. Dockery are with the Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. Hillel R. Alpert and Gregory N. Connolly are with the Center for Global Tobacco Control, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health. E. John Orav is with the Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health.), David C Christiani (0000-0002-0301-0242, Hillel R. Alpert, David C. Christiani, and Douglas W. Dockery are with the Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. Hillel R. Alpert and Gregory N. Connolly are with the Center for Global Tobacco Control, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health. E. John Orav is with the Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health.), Endel John Orav (0000-0002-8886-7252, Harvard University), Douglas W Dockery (0000-0002-6052-4880, Hillel R. Alpert, David C. Christiani, and Douglas W. Dockery are with the Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. Hillel R. Alpert and Gregory N. Connolly are with the Center for Global Tobacco Control, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health. E. John Orav is with the Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health.), Gregory N Connolly (Hillel R. Alpert, David C. Christiani, and Douglas W. Dockery are with the Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. Hillel R. Alpert and Gregory N. Connolly are with the Center for Global Tobacco Control, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health. E. John Orav is with the Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health.)
Year2014
Volume104
Issue4
Pagese56-e61
Publication date2014-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2013.301837
PMID24524537
PMCIDPMC4025697
OpenAlexW2006897336
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited12

Objectives. We evaluated the Massachusetts Fire Safe Cigarette Law’s (FSCL’s) effectiveness in preventing residential fires. Methods. We examined unintentional residential fires reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System from 2004 to 2010. We analyzed FSCL effect on the likelihood of cigarette- versus noncigarette-caused fires and effect modification by fire scenario factors by using an interrupted time series regression model. We analyzed the effect of FSCL on monthly fire rates with Poisson regression. Results. Cigarettes caused 1629 unintentional residential fires during the study period. The FSCL was associated with a 28% (95% confidence interval = 12%, 41%) reduction in the odds of cigarette- versus noncigarette-caused fires, although not in analyses restricted to casualty fires, with smaller sample size. The largest reductions were among fires in which human factors were involved; that were first ignited on furniture, bedding, or soft goods; that occurred in living areas; or that occurred in the summer or winter. Conclusions. The FSCL appears to have decreased the likelihood of cigarette-caused residential fires, particularly in scenarios for which the ignition propensity standard was developed. Current standards should be adopted, and the need for strengthening should be considered

Confidence interval · Environmental health · Injury prevention · Occupational safety and health · Odds ratio · Poison control · Poisson regression · Population · Demography · Environmental Science · Fire dynamics and safety research · Injury Epidemiology and Prevention · Medicine · Occupational Health and Performance

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