Article recently published in our customer magazine - Community Matters.

Smoking in the home can be a real fire risk and is the number one cause of accidental fire deaths in the UK.

If you or a member of your family smokes, then please ensure you take extra care to ensure you stay safe.

Never smoke in bed and try to avoid smoking on arm chairs and sofas as there is a risk of falling asleep.

Never throw cigarette butts from a balcony as these can start a fire elsewhere. Ensure you put them out properly each time. You can use a drop of water to your ashtray to prevent them from continuing to burn or use a bucket of sand.

Don’t leave lit cigarettes unattended or sat on the edge of an ashtray, as they can tip and fall, and ensure you use a heavy ashtray that can’t tip over. Beware if you are tired or smoking under the influence of alcohol as this can impair your judgement. Some prescription medications can also cause drowsiness.

Avoid buying counterfeit cigarettes as these illegal cigarettes do not extinguish like a normal cigarette when they reach the filter but continue to burn. The horrific dangers of smoking imported cigarettes were experienced by the family of June Buffham, who sadly died from smoking these illegal Jin Ling cigarettes. They are urging for no one to purchase this type even with the cost of living crisis, and to report anyone that sells them.

Julie Grant lost her mother in 2012 after she dropped a cigarette in her armchair and has been campaigning ever since to raise awareness of the danger of these cheaper cigarettes. Her mother’s body was so badly burned she was identified through dental records.

Don’t buy cheaper cigarettes as these are missing a huge safety feature; they do not have ‘speed bumps’ in the paper which cause them to self-extinguish if they are not being smoked. Many people are totally unaware of this and think they are just a cheaper brand. This could save you or one of your family members life!

Look out for one or more of the following:-

·         Often taste different to products made by genuine brands.

·         Might be sold in boxes that feature spelling or grammatical mistakes.

·         Might be sold in packets that feature misspelt, foreign or no safety/health warnings. The safety warning on genuine packets will always have a clear, white background.

·         Are often sold in packaging that’s been made by hand so the paper and glue used might be noticeably inferior.

·         Often feature poor print quality.

·         Cheaper prices – less than £3.50 per pack of 20 (or £7.50 for 50g hand rolling tobacco).

·         Foreign brand names such as Palace and Jin Ling.