City considers ban on novelty lighters

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ROGUE RIVER — Sale of novelty lighters could be permanently banned inside city limits after Thursday's City Council meeting, and retailers who keep them on shelves could face fines of as much as $1,000.

An ordinance proposed by Mark Northrop, fire marshal for Rogue River Rural Fire District, is similar to others being considered around the state and nation.

The lighters are made to resemble cell phones, figurines and toy cars, and can pose a safety hazard to children who may not recognize them as sources of fire. Many of the lighters also have been found to contain unhealthy quantities of lead.

The ordinance could take effect immediately following Thursday's meeting under an emergency clause for safety and health concerns, said Carol Weir, Rogue River's municipal clerk. It calls for fines of up to $1,000, but a municipal court judge would have final say on determining fines.

The council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 133 Broadway.

Northrop said he had visited area retailers a number of times in recent months and reported most already have stopped selling the lighters. Northrop said he expected few problems enforcing the new ordinance.

"The businesses in town are all for it," he said. "They understand the concept of protecting the children, and I don't think it's going to be an issue we're going to have to fight with again and again.

"I think this a message to the state Legislature that says we as a community really care," he said, "and that we want them to do something at a state level to ban (novelty lighters) from being imported into our state."

If the ordinance is approved on Thursday, Rogue River would become the first city in the Rogue Valley to ban novelty lighters and the second city in Oregon. Sandy, near Mount Hood, banned the sale of the lighters in October.

Maine and Tennessee became the first two states to ban novelty lighters earlier this year.

The state fire marshal's office and Sen. Ron Wyden have presented a draft bill, "Protect Children from Dangerous Lighters Act of 2008," declaring novelty lighters a banned substance under the federal Hazardous Substances Act.

Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at buffypollock@juno.com.

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