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Fires, Cigarettes and Advocacy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2021

Andrew McGuire
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Extract

America is burning at a faster rate than any other industrialized nation. Approximately 2.3 million fires costing $40 billion were reported in 1984. Over 5,400 American citizens are killed as a result of these fires and an estimated 130,000 are seriously injured. The leading cause of fire death and injury is cigarette initiated fires with the 1984 toll being 1,570 deaths and 7,000 serious injuries.’ Property damage alone totals over $390 million.

These numbers do not portray the human devastation caused by fires. No other injury causes more pain and suffering. Movies, television and radio have rarely documented the emotional and physical sequelae of a severe burn injury. One day's headline proclaims the devastation of a house fire, and then the story disappears at the point when the survivors begin the agonizing process of healing. The daily routine of burn treatment in America's burn centers is hidden from public view.

Type
Article
Information
Law, Medicine and Healthcare , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , Spring 1989 , pp. 73 - 77
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 1989

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References

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