CPSC NEISS · code 1687

Lighters, Not Specified

Lighters, Not Specified: danger rank #49 of 838 is not ER-volume rank #493 of 838 (1,292 estimated ER visits a year; rising by about 58% over the last five years).

Personal Care & Safety Products CPSC NEISS through 2024

Danger score versus ER volume

Danger score versus ER volume

According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Lighters, Not Specified ranks #49 of 838 by danger score (45/100) at ER-volume #493 of 838 (1,292/yr). They are not the same ranking.

#49
danger rank of 838
#493
ER-volume rank of 838
45/100
danger score
1,292/yr
estimated ER visits (avg)

Danger score combines injury volume, hospitalization, fatality, and five-year trend. ER volume is the average annual NEISS estimate alone. Rank 1 is highest on each list.

Where this category's danger score sits nationally

Danger score (45/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories

45 Higher than most more dangerous than 93% of 838 product categories

scored CPSC product categories, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more product categories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source CPSC NEISS, PlainSafety danger-score model · 2024

Composite verdict

Composite Safety Score: 70/100

One verdict blending 4 independently-sourced dimensions from two separate CPSC systems, each benchmarked against all 838 scored product categories by percentile rather than raw value, so no single huge-volume category can dominate the scale.

D
Dimension Value National percentile Weight applied Source
Injury severity (hospitalization + fatality blend) 19 92nd 35% CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index
Annual ER injury volume 1,292 37th 30% CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries
5-year injury trend +58% 95th 15% CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries
Consumer incident reports 29 61st 20% CPSC SaferProducts.gov public incident report count

Methodology: each dimension is ranked against the full population's p10/p25/p50/p75/p90 breakpoints and interpolated to a 0-100 percentile; the composite is the weighted average of available percentiles. See methodology for the full benchmark table.

Where 25,850 estimated ER injuries land on the body

Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 1687. Segments sum to 25,850 - a body-map mix, not a danger score or ER-volume rank.

Two danger lenses

Same-group peer scores and this product's dial

The bars compare PlainSafety danger scores inside the Personal Care & Safety Products group (same CPSC NEISS extract). The dial is this product's score alone on the Low/Moderate/High bands. Do not read a peer bar as an ER-visit count.

Personal Care & Safety Products danger scores

1. Massage Devices Or Vibrat…52/1002. Day Wear48/1003. Coins46/1004. Footwear46/1005. Lighters, Not Specified45/1006. Fuel Multi-purpose Lighte…45/1007. Nightwear45/1008. Clothing, Not Specified44/100
Higher score = higher composite danger in this group. Peer set is other scored products sharing the same CPSC group.
0/100100/10045/100
PlainSafety danger score · Lighters, Not Specified

Source: CPSC NEISS danger-score model As of 2024

How this 45/100 score is built

The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for lighters, not specified - no opinion, no editorializing:

  • Injury volume 1,292 ER visits/yr Below median volume
  • Severity (hospitalization rate) 18.5% Very high admission rate
  • Fatality rate 0.08% Above-typical fatality rate
  • 5-year trend+58%

Band labels compare this category against the corpus of 838 scored CPSC product categories, see the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.

What the CPSC Data Shows

Across the 20-year NEISS window from 2005 to 2024, injury counts for lighters, not specified are rising by about 58% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2024 (3,157 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2011 (622 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is burns, thermal to the face, accounting for approximately 4,611 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burns, thermal to the hand (4,097 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 4,926 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 18.5% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.08%) result in fatality.

Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 29 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how lighters, not specified 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)

01K2K3K4K 20052008201120142017202020232024 3K
Estimated annual emergency-room visits for Lighters, Not Specified, CPSC NEISS

Source: CPSC NEISS national injury estimates As of 2024

Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only

Who Gets Injured?

Age Group Male Female Total
0-4 1,141 261 1,402
5-14 3,640 1,286 4,926
15-24 3,760 1,010 4,770
25-34 2,879 1,557 4,436
35-44 1,845 1,199 3,044
45-54 1,814 1,296 3,110
55-64 1,310 1,188 2,498
65-74 637 447 1,084
75+ 391 187 578

Most Common Injuries

Body Part Diagnosis Est. Injuries
Face Burns, Thermal 4,611
Hand Burns, Thermal 4,097
Finger Burns, Thermal 2,261
Lower Arm Burns, Thermal 1,585
Lower Leg Burns, Thermal 1,344
Upper Trunk Burns, Thermal 1,179
Upper Leg Burns, Thermal 733
Finger Other 708
All Parts Body Anoxia 701
Lower Trunk Burns, Thermal 644
Finger Laceration 470
Eyeball Contusions, Abr. 418
Head Burns, Thermal 387
All Parts Body Poisoning 377
Face Contusions, Abr. 326

Severity Breakdown

Treated/examined And Released 75.7% (19,580)
Treated And Admitted/hospitalized 12.9% (3,324)
Treated And Transferred 8.3% (2,133)
Left Without Being Seen 2.3% (601)
Held For Observation 0.7% (188)
Fatality Incl. Doa, Died In Er 0.1% (24)

ER Visit Narratives

Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.

Age 4 · Male · Upper Trunk · Burns, Thermal · 2024

4 YOM WAS PLAYING WITH A LIGHTER, LITE HIS SHIRT ON FIRE AND BURNT HIS CHEST, NO FIRE DEPT. DX: FULL THICKNESS BURN OF CHEST WALL

Age 6 · Male · Lower Trunk · Burns, Thermal · 2024

6 YOM PRESENTS AFTER HIS BROTHER WAS PLAYING WITH A LIGHTER AND ACCIDENTALLY LIT HIS SHIRT ON FIRE. FD NS. DX: BURN OF FLANK THIRD DEGREE.

Age 19 · Male · Lower Arm · Burns, Thermal · 2024

19YOM HAS BEEN SUFFERING FROM DELUSIONS AND CONSUMED A D8 GUMMY WHEN HE SUSTAINED SELF-INFLICTED BURNS TO BOTH FOREARMS WITH A LIGHTER TONIGHT AT HOME NOTHING STATED ABOUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DX: SUPERFICIAL THICKNESS BURN OF FOREARMS; ACUTE PSYCHOSIS

Age 8 · Male · Upper Trunk · Burns, Thermal · 2024

8YOM - PATIENT PRESENT FOR BURN TO CHEST. PT WAS PLAYING WITH A LIGHTER AND HIS SHIRT CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED HIS CHEST. NO FIRE DEPARTMENT PRESENT. NO LOC. DX: BURN

Age 33 · Female · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2024

33 YOF PRESENTING TODAY IN POLICE CUSTODY AFTER ALLEGEDLY INGESTING FENTANYL DURING HER ARREST. PT ALSO HAD 2 LIGHTERS, 2 BAGS OF UNKNOWN DRUGS AND A PIPE IN HER VAGINA FOUND AT JAIL. DX: FENTANYL USE DISORDER.

Age 47 · Male · Hand · Burns, Thermal · 2024

47YOM BROUGHT IN SELF FROM HOME WITH BURNS TO FACE AND HANDS. REPORTS JUST FILLED UP A BUTANE LIGHTER AND WAS USING IT WHEN IT EXPLODED. PRESENTS WITH BLISTERED BURNS TO HANDS, FACE RED AND SWOLLEN, HAIR AND BEARD SINGED. 3RD DEGREE BURN TO HANDS, 2ND DEGREE BURN TO NOSE, FACE AND NECK, 1ST DEGREE BURN TO MOUTH FD UNK DX: BURN, SOMNOLENCE

Age 29 · Male · Finger · Other · 2024

29 YOM WITH 3 DAYS OF LEFT THUMB SWELLING FOR THE LAST 3 DAYS. STATES HE HAS BEEN PLAYING AROUND WITH A LIGHTER THAT MAY HAVE IRRITATED THE AREA. DX THUMB ABSCESS

Age 26 · Male · Face · Burns, Thermal · 2024

26YOM WHO PRESENTS TO THE ER WITH A COMPLAINT OF BURN TO HIS RIGHT EYE AREA. PT STATES THAT HE WAS TRYING TO LIGHT HIS LIGHTER AND PUT IT UP TO HIS EAR TO HEAR IF THE BUTANE WAS FLOWING WHEN IT SUDDENLY IGNITED WITH A FLASH NEXT TO HIS EYE DX; BURN

Age 59 · Male · Hand · Burns, Thermal · 2024

59 YOM WITH BURNS TO HIS HANDS. REPORTS HIS SON DROPPED A LIGHTER ON A PLASTIC BAG THAT CAUGHT ON FIRE. HE USED HIS HANDS TO PUT THE FIRE OUT. NO FD. DX BURNS TO HANDS

Age 54 · Female · Face · Burns, Thermal · 2024

54 YOF FROM A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FACILITY. SHE WAS OUTSIDE, LIT A CIGARETTE, WHICH CAUGHT HER COAT ON FIRE. +BURNS TO FACE AND FINGERS, ?FD DX BURNS

Age 71 · Male · All Parts Body · Anoxia · 2024

71 YOM REPORTS SOMEONE IN HIS HOUSE TRIED TO USE A LIGHTER TOO CLOSE TO HIS OXYGEN AND IT IGNITED BURNING HIS NASAL HAIRS, RIGHT THUMB AND LEFT HAND. COHGB 3.8, ?FD DX INHALATION INJURY, BURNS

Age 12 · Female · Finger · Burns, Thermal · 2024

12YOF WAS SETTING THINGS ON FIRE WITH A LIGHTER AND BURNED HER FINGERS.LWOT. DX: BURNS TO FINGERS

Consumer Incident Reports

Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.

9/22/2016 · Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional · CALICO BRANDS, INC. · Virginia

My wife used a scripto lighter to light a candle, and placed the lighter on the couch. She then lit 4 more candles with the lit one, and the lighter, sitting on the couch, exploded and set fire to the couch.

9/20/2012 · Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received · ZHUOYE LIGHTER MANUFACTURING CO., LTD · Texas

Picked up a mk lighter when i went to lite it blow up in my face burning my hair, face, neck area and my arm.

9/18/2018 · Incident, No Injury · ZHUOYE LIGHTER MANUFACTURING CO., LTD · Texas

My sister started the MK lighter and it exploded in her hand. Her hands were not injured but the explosion scared us both. The next day the same type of lighter was placed on the top of a dryer. Someone turned the dryer on and the MK lighter exploded.

9/11/2023 · Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional · JAY'S IMPORT AND EXPORT · United States

I had used this lighter and it burned my hand. Also I see that it does not have any child proof mechanism that is built in the lighter. I believe any children will be able to play with this lighter and maybe burn themselves.

8/14/2012 · Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received · EASTON ENTERPRISES, INC. · Ohio

I used a butane lighter to light a cigarette and set it down. It did not shut off and burned my table.

8/10/2011 · Incident, No Injury · ELITE BRANDS USA INC · Unspecified

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml98/98094.html Elite Lighter malfunctioned and the flint flew out upon the first light. Also, the lighter stayed lit after I wished to extinguish the flame. I bought the darn thing at Walgreens on Apalachee PKWY in Tallahassee, FL

6/9/2016 · Incident, No Injury · ZHUOYE LIGHTER MANUFACTURING CO., LTD · Florida

The consumer had about five of the lighters that exploded at different times without any warning. One was under his laptop, the other four were lying on the desk. The products were not exposed to direct sunlight per the consumer. No injuries.

6/28/2023 · No Incident, No Injury · Dongguan Hengjia Electronics Co., Ltd · New York

I came across this ad on [REDACTED]. I have been seeing many videos in general online about people pranking others in food service or retail and this video is next level. This is clearly a high risk product and not a gag by any means. If it was fake fire or something then it would be a gag but it's real fire, pretty sure they use coal to fuel it. Service workers are not to be used for entertainment on social media like this. It's sickening to promote like this and even create a product like this in the first place. If this happened at my job I would've called the police. [REDACTED]

Showing 8 of 29 reports.

Product Recalls

Search for active and past recalls related to lighters, not specified on the CPSC website.

Compare beyond Personal Care & Safety Products

Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization

Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Lighters, Not Specified: cross-group products nearest on danger score (45/100), estimated annual ER visits (1,292/yr), and hospitalization share (18.5%). Same-group neighbours stay in Related Products above.

Read with this product

About this data

CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports form the basis of this page. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments.

According to PlainSafety's CPSC NEISS corpus ranking, Lighters, Not Specified ranks #49 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #493 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does lighters, not specified rank on danger score versus ER volume?

Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, lighters, not specified ranks #49 by PlainSafety danger score (45/100) and #493 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (1,292/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.

What are the most common injuries from lighters, not specified?

The most common injury is burns, thermal to the face, accounting for approximately 4,611 injuries over 20 years.

Are injuries from lighters, not specified increasing or decreasing?

Up 58% over 5 years.

Who is most at risk for lighters, not specified injuries?

The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 4,926 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.

What happens when someone is injured by lighters, not specified?

Of all ER visits involving lighters, not specified, approximately 18.5% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (81.5%) are treated and released from the emergency department.

How can I report a safety problem with lighters, not specified?

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.

Data on Lighters, Not Specified is compiled directly from CPSC NEISS and SaferProducts.gov records, current through 2024. See our methodology for details.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.

PlainSafety is rendered directly from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall and incident records, no number is typed in by an editor. Product recall timelines and hazard labels are drawn from CPSC recall records for this product. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.