In July 2005, the Commission proposed banning lighters that were not child-resistant, but the proposal was turned down by some member states, who referred to insufficient accident data, the absence of novelty lighters and the assumption that the ban would present a barrier to trade and be in breach of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
A revised proposal for a piece of legislation banning the sale and marketing of lighters that are not "child resistant" was presented to the member states' experts at a meeting of a Committee established under the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD), on 8 - 9 February 2006. The meeting' outcome was positive.
The new proposal includes evidence in favour of child-resistant lighters and covers novelty lighters. As to breaching the WTO trading rules, the Commission's legal services do not recognise any problem.
EU member states can still produce novelty lighters and export them to countries, which do not have requirements for lighters to be child-resistant. This market is worth 43 million euro.
