Cigarette Or Pipe Lighters
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Personal Care & Safety Products · CPSC Code 1604
Down 18% over 5 years
The verdict
Cigarette Or Pipe Lighters carry a danger score of 41/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 2,345 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 18% over the last five years.
- 41/100
- danger score (moderate risk)
- 2,345
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 18.1%
- end in hospital admission
- 25-34
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1604 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 41/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for cigarette or pipe lighters - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume2,345 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)18.1%
- Fatality rate0.15%
- 5-year trend-18%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Cigarette Or Pipe Lighters (CPSC product code 1604, in the Personal Care & Safety Products category) generate an estimated 2,345 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 46,899 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 41/100 for this category (moderate risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 18% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2011 (3,228 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2009 (1,645 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for cigarette or pipe lighters is burns, thermal to the face, accounting for approximately 11,133 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burns, thermal to the hand (6,400 cases). The 25-34 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 7,751 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 18.1% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.15%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 73 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how cigarette or pipe lighters fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 1,997 | 1,356 | |
| 5-14 | 4,204 | 1,552 | |
| 15-24 | 5,001 | 2,242 | |
| 25-34 | 4,761 | 2,990 | |
| 35-44 | 2,809 | 2,496 | |
| 45-54 | 3,197 | 2,258 | |
| 55-64 | 3,812 | 2,237 | |
| 65-74 | 2,240 | 1,995 | |
| 75+ | 1,111 | 633 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Burns, Thermal | |
| Hand | Burns, Thermal | |
| Finger | Burns, Thermal | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Arm | Burns, Thermal | |
| Upper Trunk | Burns, Thermal | |
| Upper Leg | Burns, Thermal | |
| All Parts Body | Poisoning | |
| Lower Leg | Burns, Thermal | |
| All Parts Body | Anoxia | |
| Lower Trunk | Burns, Thermal | |
| Head | Burns, Thermal | |
| Eyeball | Burns, Thermal | |
| Finger | Other | |
| Eyeball | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
31 YOF POURED RUBBING ALCOHOL ON FINGERS THEN LIT IT WITH A LIGHTER FIRE DEPT DID NOT ATTEND DX THERMAL BURNS TO FINGERS
87YOM FALLING FORWARD WHEN TRYING TO CHANGE FLINT IN LIGHTER. NO INJURYDX FALL
10YOM PLAYING WITH A LIGHTER AND IT EXPLODED AND BURNED PTS HAND. NO FD DX: BURN
23YOF WALKED IN STATING THAT SHE WAS PUTTING ON WIG, SPRAYED HAIRSPRAY ON HAIRLINE, THEN USED LIGHTER. PATIENT STATED THAT SHE FORGOT SHE USED HAIRSPRAY, SET FIRE TO HAIRLINE, BEHIND EARS, TOP OF EARS. FIRE DEPARTMENT DID NOT ARRIVE. DX:PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF LEFT EAR; PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF SCALP.
59YOF WAS LIGHTING A CIGARETTE WITH A CIGARETTE LIGHTER WHEN SHE ACCIDENTALLY LIT HER HAIR ON FIRE WAS ABLE TO PUT IT OUT QUICKLY SUSTAINED A SMALL BURN TO FOREHEAD NOTHING STATED ABOUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DX: FIRST DEGREE THERMAL BURN TO FOREHEAD
64YOM REPORTS HE USED RUBBING ALCOHOL ON HIS BODY WHILE IN THE BATH TO HELP WITH HIS ARTHRITIS. HE LIT A CIGARETTE, THE LIGHTER EXPLODED AND HIS ARM AND BODY (LOWER BACK, BUTTOCKS, THIGHS) CAUGHT ON FIRE. HE PUT IT OUT BUT NOTICED BLISTERS AND CAME TO ER TODAY. DX SEVERE BURN, TRANSFER TO BURN UNIT
63YOM PRESESNTS WITH LEFT SIDED CHEST PAIN 1-3 WEEKSAGO. STATES ABOUT 1 MONTH AGO HE FELL WITH A CIGARETTE LIGHTER IN RIGHT HAND AND IN THE PROCESS THE CIGARETTE LIGHTER GOT STUCK IN BETWEEN LEFT CHEST ARE AND THE FLOOR. DX: CHEST PAIN
27YOM WAS FILLING UP A SMALL LIKE *** LIGHTER WITH LIGHTER FLUID AND CAUGHT HIS RIGHT 3RD-5TH FINGERS ON FIRE, UNKNOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT INVOLVEMENT. DX: PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF FINGER OF LEFT HAND
28YOF WAS ATTEMPTING TO REFILL A LIGHTER, SUSTAINED BURN TO HAND, DX PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF HAND
66 YOM WAS SMOKING CIGARETTE WITH O2 ON FACE, CAUGHT ON FIRE SINGED NASAL HAIRS, FD UNKNOWN DX NASAL BURNING, PT LEFT AMA
52YOF PRESENTS WITH EYE IRRITATION AFTER LIGHTING A CIGARETTE AND SINGEING HER HAIR THAT WAS BLOWING INTO HER EYE; PATIENT LEFT WITHOUT TREATMENT DX: EYE PROBLEM
65 YOM WAS AT HOME WHEN HIS SON LIT A CIGARETTE AROUND HIS OXYGEN CAUSING A FLASH BURN TO FACE, UNKNOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT. DX: SUPERFICIAL PARTIAL THICKNESS FACIAL BURNS
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
I have recently purchased 2 of these lighters( Liberty lite lighter)and they have literally blown up! They were purchased from Cox's Smoker's in Mt Washington Ky! These lighters are very dangerous! When they blew up shards of plastic went everywhere!
I used a BIC lighter to light some candles, turned off the lighter and set it on the kitchen counter in the upright position. A few minutes later the smoke alarms are going off and I look and there's a 4 inch blob of fire on my counter, the lighter completely burned up and burned a big spot on my counter.
Two times the lighter at different times once in my bedroom on my nightstand while I was sleeping blew up caught my nightstand wicker on fire I woke up put it out this time I had a lighter on my coffee table lit a cigarette put the lighter down it caught on fire I put it out the gas leaked out of it and it shot across the room on fire
lighter was sitting on covered table outside and it blew up into three pieces. One piece when at least 6 feet from the table the other two into the pool. It was not a hot day and the lighter was under an umbrella table. My husband had just lit a cigarette and had walked away.
Scripto butane lighter by Calico Brands spontaneously exploded, in an unoccupied room, causing a file on a wood dresser. Damaged dresser and burnt an adjacent leather belt. If no one was home to put out the flames we would have lost our entire home and dogs
I was at [REDACTED] . I left my lighter on the cup holder. When I returned the lighter was in peaces it must have exploded peaces everywhere.
I was outside at break having a cigarette. After lighting the cigarette I place the lighter on the picnic bench that i was sitting on. About 3 minutes after I hear a whoosh sound and see flames next to me. I was in shock when I saw this. Imagine this happening with the lighter in my car! Obviously an unsafe cheap product.
This caller purchased a St. Dupont lighter usually sold through Davidoff as U.S. representative but caller purchased it from an online dealer around the second week in August 2016. He attempted to contact the manufacturer August 26th,2016 regarding that since he has owned the lighter the flame would continue to burn after he switched it off. He will continue with his attempts to contact the manufacturer. The lighter is working as it was intended to work as a cigar lighter that would burn longer but it should turn off if switch is turned off. He wants to create this report because he states that after he switched the lighter off, he laid it down and it continued with a torch flame as the lighter hit a towel. It burned the towel which the caller was able to extinguish the towel by placing his hand over it. There are no injuries being reported.
Showing 8 of 73 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to cigarette or pipe lighters on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are cigarette or pipe lighters?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, cigarette or pipe lighters have a danger score of 41/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 2,345 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from cigarette or pipe lighters?
The most common injury is burns, thermal to the face, accounting for approximately 11,133 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from cigarette or pipe lighters increasing or decreasing?
Down 18% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for cigarette or pipe lighters injuries?
The 25-34 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 7,751 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by cigarette or pipe lighters?
Of all ER visits involving cigarette or pipe lighters, approximately 18.1% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (81.9%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with cigarette or pipe lighters?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Personal Care & Safety Products
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 41/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 25-34 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
