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Plenary, 10 Sep 2009

10 Sep 2009 · S3 · Plenary

Item of business

Fire and Rescue Framework

Maxwell, Stewart SNP West of Scotland Watch on SPTV

Robert Brown makes a salient point. There has been huge success in bringing smoke detectors to the public's attention. Many people install them and change their batteries as they should, but many others do not. As a result of the regulations for new buildings, smoke detectors are now hard-wired into properties. I am afraid that overcoming the problem will probably take many years, but there is no doubt but that we must focus on it, given the clear statistics on the problems that are caused by smoke detectors that lie unused, or smoke detectors whose batteries have not been replaced.

Over the past few years in Scotland, about 40 per cent of fire deaths have been caused by smoking materials. Members should think about that for a moment: four in every 10 fire deaths are attributable to smoking and smoking materials. It does not need to be that way. In June 2004, New York state made reduced ignition propensity cigarettes the only cigarettes that were allowed to be sold in that state. Its approach was followed by Canada in October 2005, and by Vermont and California in 2006. North Carolina will join them in January 2010 and Finland will become, in April 2010, the first European country to adopt the measure. In New York state, 167 deaths were caused by smoking materials in the four years before RIP cigarettes were introduced; in the four years since their introduction, 113 deaths were caused by smoking materials. That is a decrease in fire deaths of 54, or 32.34 per cent. In other words, fire deaths in New York state fell by a third following the introduction of RIP cigarettes. Between 1999 and 2006, smoking materials were the leading cause of fire deaths in Vermont—they were responsible for 19 per cent of them. In the two years after the introduction of RIP cigarettes, no fire deaths were attributable to smoking materials in Vermont.

I began to campaign for the introduction in Scotland of reduced ignition propensity cigarettes in the previous session of Parliament. I lodged a motion on the matter in that session, and there was a members' business debate on it. There is currently a motion on the matter in my name before Parliament, which I ask members to sign. As I said, the issue was considered in a members' business debate in the previous session of Parliament but, unfortunately, the relevant legislative power is reserved to Westminster, so the Scottish Parliament cannot act to stop the unnecessary deaths. However, we can send a strong signal and demand that Westminster act. The campaign has the backing of all eight of Scotland's fire brigades and of the Fire Brigades Union. I ask the minister and Parliament to lend their weight to my campaign for RIP cigarettes to become, as soon as possible, the only cigarettes that are available in Scotland.

Stopping smoking is the best fire safety strategy. However, I conclude by quoting Chief Fire Officer David Dalziel of Grampian Fire and Rescue Service. In a letter to me on the issue, he said:

"Scotland has an unenviable record for fire deaths and casualties and measures such as you propose will make a significant and lasting contribution to reducing that toll".

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Plenary, 10 Sep 2009

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