Lighters contain flammable fuel and produce a flame or heat. They pose a serious risk if used by children, which can cause fire, injury and even death. Lighters are not toys!
In order to reduce the risk of an accidents, the Royal Decree of 15 September 2006 on the safety of lighters stipulates that:
- the sale of novelty lighters is prohibited (they could be confused with toys);
- only child-resistant lighters may be sold.
Regulations
In order to reduce the risk of accidents, a European Regulation, which was transposed into the Royal Decree of 15 September 2006 on the safety of lighters stipulates that:
- the supply of novelty lighters is forbidden;
- only child-resistant lighters may be supplied.
Novelty lighters are lighters that can be attractive to children, with or without an animation (lighters shaped like toys, guns, vehicles, "normal" lighters with effects such as flashing lights or sound, etc.).
All lighters should meet at least the safety level imposed by the EN ISO 9994 standard on the safety of lighters. This standard determines a number of requirements that a lighter must meet on flame height, flame stability, drop resistance, etc.
In addition, all lighters, except for (semi-)luxury lighters, should also meet at least an equivalent level of safety to the one imposed by the standard EN 13869 on child-resistant lighters.
This regulation does not apply to (semi-)luxury lighters, because it is assumed that the chance of children getting hold of these lighters is very small. However, these lighters do need to comply with the Code of Economic Law, Book IX on the safety of products and services.
Obligations of producers and distributors
As a producer or distributor, you must fulfil the obligations imposed by the Code of Economic Law, Book IX on the safety of products and services, in addition to the one imposed by the specific regulations.
Producers (manufacturers, representatives, importers, etc.) and distributors must remove lighters that do not meet the expected safety level from the market.
In order to make sure that a lighter is safe, we recommend that you only sell or distribute lighters for which the producer can present a test report demonstrating the lighter's safety. It is important that the test report unambiguously refers to the concerned lighters. A test report for lighter X is not valid for lighter Y!
Please note that a test report does not always guarantee that the supplied lighters are accompanied by user instructions and warnings in the required languages.
Information for retailers and consumers
Only child-resistant lighters may be offered to consumers. Novelty lighters are prohibited. Novelty lighters are lighters that can be attractive to children, with or without an animation (lighters shaped like toys, guns, vehicles, "normal" lighters with effects such as flashing lights or sound, etc.).In order to find out whether the lighter you are purchasing, or that you have in your possession, is safe, you can use our checklist. You will also find a document describing the various types of lighters, illustrated with a photo.
If you find a non-conformity, you can report it to your distributor and potentially request a test report demonstrating that the lighter is safe.
Check whether there is an unambiguous connection between the product and the test report. A test report for lighter X is not valid for lighter Y!
If the evaluation using the checklist and the test report is not satisfactory, we recommend that you do not purchase the lighter in question.
Disputes and complaints
For complaints in relation to the safety of lighters, you can report your problem to the FPS Economy.
