Why fireworks should be banned

The biggest danger of fireworks is that people consume alcohol and try to manage them. Every year it is sad to hear of children and adults harmed or killed by the negligence. If they are sold it should at least be against the law to use them while drinking any amount of alcohol.

Social Issues. Law Enforcement. US Politics. World Politics. Welcome to Soapboxie! I am a teacher, writer, animal lover and outdoor enthusiast. Year Estimated Injuries 10, 9. Related Articles. By Cynthia Calhoun. By billd By Angie Jardine. By Emily Nemchick. By Paul Goodman. By Kylyssa Shay. By DK. By Catherine Giordano. By Claire Miller. By Harry Nielsen. By Paul Richard Kuehn. There are substantial adverse effects on people with a very wide range of health conditions and disabilities, including children with autistic spectrum disorders and people with hearing problems like hyperacusis.

There can also be very distressing effects on people with post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD , including military veterans. We heard several concerns about the potential consequences of a ban. For example, several community-based groups including Sussex bonfire societies, schools and grass-roots sports clubs, whose displays raised considerable funds, either for their own running costs or for local good causes.

The community groups we heard from argued their displays were supported by the local community and improved community cohesion.

A ban on public use of fireworks would therefore have potentially dire consequences for them. The fireworks industry raised practical concerns about the implications of a ban on public sales and use.

There are not enough professional firework companies in the UK to fill the market and so the current providers would be stretched. You would see an upsurge in pop-up professional display operators trying to fill the gap, which is not ideal. The other 39 states impose no special restrictions. The last Gallup poll done on the subject in suggests fireworks are extremely popular. When the Gallup poll was done, the Fourth fell on a Wednesday.

While they are popular, using fireworks is dangerous. Each year there is at least one horrific story about a child being maimed or killed by fireworks. Fireworks fall into two categories : professional formally called class 1.

This number is only a part of total consumer sales, since around the Fourth many convenience stores and other merchants temporarily stock fireworks, and these temporary sales are not included. The overwhelming majority of consumer fireworks are imported from China, which is not unexpected given China invented them. Official government figures do not break out professional fireworks companies separately because the industry is extremely small , and many Fourth of July shows are not run by professional firms but instead are set up by clubs , retired explosive experts from the military or fire department officials.

Clearly people in the US love their fireworks and are using more every year. From , when the import data start, to , the US has doubled the amount of fireworks imported, when measured by weight, and almost tripled the amount of fireworks imported, when measured in dollars.

Fireworks are restricted in states and counties because of two concerns: injuries and accidental fires. From late August, the sound of explosions echoes through the night sky. It can be a genuine source of distress, particularly to older people and even pets. Sometimes the consequences can be lethal. Already this year, a Teesside man has had part of a finger blown off by a youth who hurled a firework at him.

Joe White, 59, from Seaton Carew was working in his garden when the banger was thrown towards him. Property has also come under attack - fire crews were called to the Acklam campus of Middlesbrough College when a banger was hurled through an open window. Fire chiefs say it was lucky that the adult learners using the building at the time remained unscathed. They have also called for sales of fireworks to be restricted to the days before Bonfire Night.

So, who are the people letting off fireworks and where are they getting them from? Middlesbrough Council and Trading Standards officers have pledged to work with retailers to make sure those under-age cannot buy the explosives, but undoubtedly young people do have access to fireworks.

Officers have also launched a scheme, believed to be the first of its kind, to ensure that firew orks cannot be bought and sold from private houses. They believe it's one of the main ways children are getting hold of fireworks and have even set up a fireworks hotline on for anyone who has any suspicions.

If you're a young person, do you buy fireworks for your own enjoyment and see nothing wrong with what you are doing? Do you think they're a good way of brightening up boring winter evenings? Would an outright ban be a step too far or a valid response to the fireworks menace? Are fireworks little more than dangerous explosives or are they, when handled correctly, harmless fun? Does anyone really need private access to fireworks when there are so many good public displays? How do fireworks make the winter months a misery for you?

We want to hear all sides. After enduring months of exploding fireworks, I suppose we can all look forward to the rash of distressing stories regarding people and animals being maimed and disfigured. Still, it is only fitting that a celebration of the arrest, torture and final bestial execution of an enemy of the state should result in some pain.

Robert Astbury, Middlesbrough. Reading your comments about fireworks as I sit here with my three dogs, two of which are terrified, I only wish there could be a ban on selling to the public. This is so distressing. Lynn Butler, Wolverhampton.

I have just moved out of an area in Middlesbrough where fireworks have been going off since August, particularly during daylight hours, which leads me to believe that those using them are just being a menace to everyone around them.

I say "yes" to organised displays and "no" to any other sales.