House fire risk of smoking ban

Homeowners are being warned of a potential rise in the number of house fires when the smoking ban is introduced in England from July 1st.

Smoking in public places such as pubs and bars will become illegal from this date and Abbey is concerned that fires will become ore commonplace as people choose to stay in rather than go to the pub.

The bank believes that many people may opt to host house parties as an alternative to going out so that they can smoke while drinking.

However, this can pose a danger as drunken smokers could inadvertently set something alight, leading to a costly home insurance claim for the mortgage holder.

Figures show that around £11 billion worth of damage is caused by fires started by cigarettes each year in the UK but recent statistics display a downward trend in the past ten years.

Abbey, however, is concerned that this will begin to change as more and more people choose to spend their nights indoors.

“The landscape of social behaviour is going to change quite dramatically following the smoking ban and we anticipate that people are likely to spend more time entertaining at home rather than going out,” said Prasad Shastri from Abbey.

“This could well have an adverse effect on the number of fires started in the home and we would ask everyone to be extra careful and take simple precautions to protect their homes and the people in them.”

Research from the Department for Communities and Local Government has found that nearly a third of households have a smoker living in them.

Tags: uk, house fires, risk of smoking, Everyone, costly home insurance claim