Don't burn your life away!

Unextinguished cigarettes cause houses to burn down, or a person falls asleep while smoking and sustains thermal burns – these are the cases that EMERCOM employees encounter daily, caused by careless handling of fire while smoking. An unextinguished cigarette destroys homes and property, burns forests and dry vegetation, but these are not the worst consequences. A carelessly discarded cigarette butt can turn a person's life to ashes! To prevent fires and deaths from them, from November 4 to 27, the campaign "Don't Burn Your Life Out!" is being held in the republic.

It is no secret that 23.8% of the population in Belarus smokes, risking not only their health but also their homes due to an unextinguished cigarette butt. Such seemingly harmless actions as "take out-smoke-throw away" can lead to a tragic chain: "smoke-drink-fall asleep." Causing smoldering, the cigarette butt itself goes out after some time, but the smoldering source it created turns into a fire. Smoking combined with alcohol leads, in the best case, to smoke-stained walls and ceilings, and in the worst case, to the loss of a home or even death.

Smoking in bed is one of the main causes of fires and deaths of Belarusians. A smoking person puts not only themselves but also their loved ones at risk. The health consequences have long been known: passive smoking causes great harm to others, but a discarded cigarette butt can also bring disaster.

How to smoke safely (at least to preserve your life):

1. If you cannot quit tobacco yourself, do not throw cigarettes on the floor and do not smoke in bed;

2. Cigarette butts should be collected in a tin can filled with water. Forget the habit of throwing butts from the loggia or balcony;

3. Close windows on the balcony or loggia, and do not store flammable liquids there. Sometimes tidying up and not creating a storage space on the balcony is a good solution not only for minimalism enthusiasts;

4. Install a smoke detector, which will help alert you to a fire in time.

And remember! The best way to protect yourself from the consequences of tobacco is to quit smoking altogether. Do not forget that flying and drunken cigarette butts can cause crippled lives and broken destinies.