Health

Common Sense Health: Fireworks Still Cause Tragedy

by W. Gifford-Jones, MD and Diana Gifford-Jones Views: 80

We are not setting out to be killjoys. In fact, living it up with special celebrations is a good thing for most people. But every year, we witness foolish people setting off fireworks, ignorant of or uncaring about potential injuries. The numbers may fluctuate, the types of fireworks may evolve, and safety messaging may get louder, but sadly, the dangers persist. Every year, fireworks cause life-changing injuries, tragic accidents, and unnecessary suffering.

The truth is, fireworks are not harmless fun. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported over 10,200 fireworks-related injuries were treated in emergency rooms in 2022 alone. Nearly all of these occurred in the first week of July when amateurs are trying to have fun, or when kids are prone to making terrible mistakes.

Of these injuries, nearly 15% involved the eyes, and over one-third were burns, mostly to the hands and face. The most injured age group? Teen boys between 15 and 19 years old. No surprise there.

What’s more, data shows that people in lower-income neighbourhoods have more than twice the likelihood of getting injured by fireworks than residents of high-income communities. Regardless of where it happens though, the vast majority of injuries are preventable, and most victims are bystanders.

The toll isn’t limited to humans. Recent studies are giving voice to pets who suffer in silence – or more accurately, in terror. According to research published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science in 2021, dogs exposed to fireworks often suffer from anxiety, destructive behavior, and long-term stress responses. One survey found that over 60% of dogs showed severe signs of distress during fireworks displays.

It’s not just pets. A 2020 study out of the Netherlands revealed that fireworks cause abrupt changes in bird behavior, with flocks fleeing in the middle of the night, flying at unusually high altitudes and burning through precious energy reserves. What’s a moment of fun for people can be a life-threatening ordeal for wildlife.

Many argue that if used properly, fireworks are safe. But how many backyard pyrotechnicians have proper safety protocols in place? Alcohol and explosives do not mix, yet somehow, every July 1st and July 4th, we see plenty of people holding beer in one hand and a lighter in the other. If you are going to use alcohol or drugs, stay away from fireworks.

Organized and sanctioned shows can go wrong too. We remember a public occasion when an improperly secured fireworks container tipped over, sending a series of burning projectiles directly at us and other families. Miraculously, there were no injuries. In recent years, there have been harrowing incidents that made headlines. In 2023, an innocent 11-year-old in Michigan lost three fingers lighting a firework in her bathroom. The stick exploded with the force of dynamite in her hand.

Even sparklers, those seemingly innocent favourites of toddlers everywhere, burn at around 1,800°F. That a temperature hot enough to melt gold! Every year, emergency rooms see cases of searing burns from these so-called “safe” fireworks. One quick swipe across the face or hand is all it takes for a lifelong scar.

So, what’s the takeaway? It’s simple. Fireworks are explosives, not toys. Leave them to the pros. If you really want to light something up this summer, try a barbecue, invite your friends, and keep the flames on a slow, safe broil. Teach young children, who have not lost their compassion, about the impact of fireworks on animals. And don’t forget the magic of watching fireflies on a summer’s night – far more beautiful than any noisy flash of fire in the sky.

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Author: W. Gifford-Jones, MD and Diana Gifford-Jones

Dr. Ken Walker (who writes under the pseudonym of Dr. W. Gifford-Jones, MD) is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the Harvard Medical School. He trained in general surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester, Montreal General Hospital, McGill University and in Gynecology at Harvard. His storied medical career began as a general practitioner, ship’s surgeon, and hotel doctor. For more than 40 years, he specialized in gynecology, devoting his practice to the formative issues of women’s health. In 1975, he launched his weekly medical column that has been published by national and local Canadian and U.S. newspapers. Today, the readership remains over seven million.

His advice contains a solid dose of common sense and he never sits on the fence with controversial issues. He is the author of nine books including, “The Healthy Barmaid”, his autobiography “You’re Going To Do What?”, “What I Learned as a Medical Journalist”, and “90+ How I Got There!”

Many years ago, he was successful in a fight to legalize heroin to help ease the pain of terminal cancer patients. His foundation at that time donated $500,000 to establish the Gifford-Jones Professorship in Pain Control and Palliative Care at the University of Toronto Medical School. At 93 years of age he rappelled from the top of Toronto’s City Hall (30 stories) to raise funds for children with a life-threatening disease through the Make-a-Wish Foundation.  His hobby is trap shooting.

He is married to Susan and has four children and twelve grandchildren.

Diana MacKay writes in collaboration with her father under the pen name, Diana Gifford-Jones.  The daughter of W. Gifford-Jones, MD, Diana has extensive global experience in health and healthcare policy.  Diana is Special Advisor with The Aga Khan University, which operates 2 quaternary care hospitals and numerous secondary hospitals, medical centres, pharmacies, and laboratories in South Asia and Africa.  She worked for ten years in the Human Development sectors at the World Bank, including health policy and economics, nutrition, and population health.

For over a decade at The Conference Board of Canada, she managed four health-related executive networks, including the Roundtable on Socio-Economic Determinants of Health, the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, the Canadian Centre for Environmental Health, and the Centre for Health System Design and Management. Her master’s degree in public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government included coursework at Harvard Medical School.  She is also a graduate of Wellesley College.  She has extensive experience with Canadian universities, including at Carleton University, where she was the Executive Director of the Global Academy.

She lived and worked in Japan for four years and speaks Japanese fluently. Diana has the designation as a certified Chartered Director from The Directors College, a joint venture of The Conference Board of Canada and McMaster University.  She has recently published a book on the natural health philosophy of W. Gifford-Jones, called No Nonsense Health – Naturally!

The weekly column by W. Gifford-Jones, MD has been published without interruption for 45 years.  The same no-nonsense tradition now continues in a father-daughter collaboration.

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