Deadly Fires Down Due To Vaping?
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Vaping may be poised to be responsible for more than just helping smokers quit: it might also be a contributing factor to the decline in fires.
MPR News reported earlier this week that fire deaths in the state of Minnesota have gone down drastically since last year. In fact, Minnesota State Fire Marshal Bruce West said that: “Right now we’re at 24, and that’s compared to 49 at this time last year.”
While that may seem like a low number, fire deaths are actually common in Minnesota, especially during the colder seasons, when people turn to space heaters and ovens in order to keep warm. Fire deaths actually went up last year in the state, due to space heaters that were faulty or left unattended.
However, West thinks that there may be another factor to the decline in fire deaths.
“The number one cause of fire-related deaths continues to be careless smoking. The number one identified cause. So people either quitting smoking or moving to vaping, that could be one of the underlying reductions in this,” West said when speaking to reporters about the fire death statistics. “That’s something that we will definitely take a look at.”
Vaping helps solve the problem of smoking-related fires because there is no actual fire involved in vaping. Vape devices use heat that comes from a battery which turns e-liquid into a vapor that people inhale, ensuring that even if a person falls asleep while using their device, the chances of a fire starting are almost nonexistent.
Fire deaths from careless smoking have created such a huge problem in America that the National Fire Protection Association creating a fact sheet that puts it into perspective.
In 2011 alone, there were 90,000 smoking-related fires in the country, resulting in over 1,500 injuries and nearly 550 deaths. Smoking-related fires also contributed $621 million in direct property damage, with many fires starting in bedrooms or living rooms, which are the most popular places to smoke. All of these fires could have been prevented if people hadn’t been smoking traditional cigarettes.
It’s also important to note that the older a smoker is, the more likely it is that they will die in a smoke-related fire.
Now that vaping has been introduced to Americans, more people are switching from smoking to these safer devices, reducing smoking-related fires. This was an indirect benefit that the vaping community is proud to be responsible for.
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