Disclaimer: This document provides guidance and is not a legally binding interpretation and shall therefore not be relied upon as legal advice.
It is almost twenty years since the EU prohibited the sales of cigarette lighters that are attractive to children, also known as “novelty lighters”. Nevertheless, recalls of such products remain a daily occurrence.
Perhaps nice, but surely dangerous
The pitfall is clear. These are nice looking products that purchasers may want to buy and sell. But miniature versions of real world products are very often attractive to children. Children simulate the real world in play with these products. Unfortunately, children and dangerous never go hand in hand.
Even worse
As if selling lighters attractive for children is not enough, some manufacturers really go the extra mile by making the lighters look like food or weapons. And recalled products are marketed a few years later again without any remorse of conscience.
Recalled novelty lighters
If you’re looking for more examples of bad ideas, browse through the more than 200 (!) recalled lighters that can be found on Safety Gate, the EU portal that publishes recalls of dangerous products.
Risks
Children playing with lighters cause a significant number of serious fire accidents, injuries and fatalities.
The European Commission has the possibility to adopt a “Decision” to address serious risks from certain products.
Regulations
This lead to the publication of Decision 2006/502/EC to ensure that only lighters which are child-resistant are placed on the market and to the marketing of novelty lighters.
Such decisions remain valid for maximum one year, but the validity of this first Decision in 2006 was extended every year until Decision (EU) 2016/575 set the end date on 11 May 2017.
This does not mean that after May 2017 novelty lighters are no longer banned.
The harmonised standard EN 13869:2016 addresses child-resistant and child safety requirements for lighters, it states that “No lighter shall be a child-appealing lighter”.
Child-appealing is wide ranging
Where child-appealing includes, but is not limited to, lighters with a shape which resembles cartoon characters, toys, guns, watches, telephones, musical instruments, vehicles, human body (parts), animals, food or beverages, or that play musical notes, or have flashing lights or moving objects or other entertaining features.
Additional common safety requirements for all lighters can be found in standard EN ISO 9994.
