Fireworks should have to carry graphic, cigarette-style warnings and be sold in plain packaging to cut the number of injuries they cause, NHS surgeons have said.
They said urgent action was needed because of the toll of serious, disfiguring and sometimes life-changing injuries to hands and faces from fireworks.
A&E units are likely to end up treating those injured on bonfire night next Tuesday because fireworks have been misused or have exploded near people rather than high in the air.
“Hand surgeons see devastating injuries caused by fireworks throughout the winter months, with people often losing large portions of their hand,” said David Newington, president of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH). “Providing warnings on all firework packaging would serve as a graphic reminder of the severe yet avoidable danger they can cause.
“Even sparklers, which are often thought of as safe, can present a significant risk unless used carefully, as they burn at such high temperatures.”
Mark Henley, the president of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (Bapras), accused ministers of doing too little to reduce the harm fireworks cause to children and young adults.
“Although packaged as toys, these are serious explosives, and the types of reconstructive surgery being required would not be out of place in a war zone,” he said.
A total of 1,936 people in England needed hospital treatment in 2018-19 because of firework injuries. The victims in 600 cases – almost a third (31%) overall – were aged under 18.
Henley said that although the number of people injured had fallen, from 4,436 who attended an A&E in England because of fireworks in the previous year, it was still too high.
A&E doctors backed the call for graphic warnings to be added to all packets of fireworks.
“Fireworks are inherently dangerous. Emergency physicians regularly see people who have been harmed from them exploding or being misused in some way”, said Adrian Boyle, the vice-president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
“If people lose fingers or end up with weak or stiff fingers, that can seriously affect their life. Some of these injuries can be life-changing. People also suffer facial injuries, especially around the eyes, including scarring, from fireworks exploding close to them,” he added.
Some people even set off fireworks inside a car, which is highly dangerous, Boyle said.
“Bapras, BSSH and the British Burns Association (BBA) believe mandatory graphic warning images and plain packaging for fireworks will help warn of potential injuries at the point of use and discourage misuse,” the three groups said in a joint statement.
Firework injuries fell significantly in Northern Ireland after it brought in legislation in 2002 that obliged people buying category two or three fireworks – covering almost all products except indoor fireworks and sparklers – to first get a licence.
A spokesman for the BBA said: “If they explode incorrectly they can cause severe injury, including loss of fingers, loss of sight and permanent disfigurement. They should only ever be used in a supervised environment.”
