This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Fall in injuries from fireworks
25/03/2004
New statistics released today show a fall in the number of injuries sustained from fireworks in 2003 from the previous year.
Key statistics include:
* the number of people injured in Scotland was 71, a decrease of 41 per cent from the previous year's figure of 120;
* children aged under 16 accounted for 32 of injuries, young people aged 16-20 accounted for 14 and people aged 21 and over accounted for 25;
* there were 36 injuries resulting from casual incidents in the street and 22 resulting from family or private parties; and
* injures to the hand (35 per cent) were most common, followed by eye (19 per cent), leg/foot (16 per cent), head (11 per cent), torso (11 per cent) and arm (9 per cent),
Finance Minister Andy Kerr said:
"We all enjoy well organised displays or domestic fireworks safely used at home. Unfortunately, the irresponsible use of fireworks can cause untold misery in our communities.
"A decline in the number of fireworks-related injuries is a small but significant step in the right direction and I hope we can make even more progress this year. The Executive has worked closely with the UK Government and Bill Tynan MP on the new legislation which will come into force this year to tackle the irresponsible use of fireworks.
"Good work by people working at the frontline and the measures being introduced by the government will make a real difference and increase public safety."
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Peter Donnelly added:
"A fall in the number of fireworks-related injuries should be seen as good news, and I am particularly pleased to see that less than half of incidents involved under 16s and only a quarter involved pre-teen children.
"However, there is no room for complacency. Fireworks need to be handled very carefully and while the statistics suggest that children and their parents are listening to safety messages on fireworks, these message must still be reinforced in the future.
"Manufacturers must continue to highlight the dangers for parents and the public in handling fireworks incorrectly or allowing children unsupervised access to them. In addition, local authorities should ensure that retailers adhere to safe practice in the sale of fireworks.
These statistics have been published by the Information and Statistics Division of the NHS (ISD Scotland) and represent the Scottish results from the annual Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Fireworks Injuries Enquiry for 2003.
The full set of figures can be accessed at: http://www.isdscotland.org/fireworks
Information on fireworks injuries in Scotland is collected by ISD Scotland from an annual survey; for 2003 the survey ran from 11 October to 8 November. The Scottish survey is part of the annual Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Fireworks Injuries Enquiry covering Scotland, England and Wales. Data are supplied to ISD by NHS hospitals in Scotland and form part of the DTI's continuing review of policy on fireworks. The survey excludes injuries resulting from bonfires.
In recent years, ISD Scotland published fireworks injuries statistics in October of the following year. In 2002 the figures were published earlier (in August) to provide additional time for interested parties to assess the statistics in relation to any prospective injury prevention campaigns. The 2003 survey results are published earlier still to coincide with the forthcoming release of results from the DTI Great Britain Fireworks Injuries Enquiry.