Prague - From now on, the EU will protect Czech children from burning themselves accidentally with lighters.
Czech tobacco shops will have to obey a new EU's directive that requires all lighters have a special safety measure that would prevent children from using them.
Not all dealers abide this regulation, though.
There are no rules that would closely define the safety measure. "The point is that it should be more difficult to operate a lighter. For example, there can be two-step manipulation or some safety catches," explained Miloslava Fléglová from the Czech Commercial Inspection (ČOI).
It is precisely this institution whose employees can now control the implementation of the directive by dealers and sellers. Most of the sellers appear to be prepared for the change, however lighters that can be operated very easily are still for sale at some places.
"Is this a safety catch?"
"I cannot see whether this one has a safety catch or not," said a woman in a tobacco shop in Prague.
She has been only partially informed about the directive - her supplier didn't tell her anything. "I have heard that when it's difficult to press the button, it has a safety catch," she said.
Aktuálně.cz reporters bought two lighters in her shop. The first one had a safety catch that made it difficult for a child no older than 51 months to use it, as required by the EU directive. However, the second one could have been started very easily - by pressing it lightly.
In some other shops, assistants were well-informed about this EU's newest requirement.
"We know about this, we are selling only lighters with safety catch," said one of them. But at the same time, she complained about the quantities of "old" lighters she still has in her shop.
It seems that not only children but some adults will have problems using the safety lighters. "Some of our customers have come back, saying their lighter doesn't work," said a seller in a tobacco shop.
Funny lighters a history
Lighters that can be mistaken for a toy are now completely banned.
"These are lighters that attract attention of children or have a shape of other items - for example a car or a gun - can resemble a toy. These cannot be sold even when they have a safety catch," informed Fléglová from ČOI.
The directive was approved by the EU in 2006, therefore sellers had plenty of time to prepare for its coming into force. Those who will not obey may now face charges.
However, ČOI is not planning any large-scale "raids".
"There will be some routine controls. If we learn about the directive being violated massively, we can decide otherwise," said Fléglová.
Sellers should be also aware of the obligation to have all lighters marked with a safety measure notice, or this notice needs to be included in the package.
