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Testimony of Bill Cotton, MD - House Bill 253, Fireworks Legalization (February 5th, 2020)

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Testimony of Bill Cotton, MD, FAAP, for the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics on House Bill 253 – Fireworks Legalization, dated February 5th, 2020, addressed to Chairman Manning, Vice Chair Dean, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan and members of the House Commerce and Labor Committee. Bill Cotton states that the testimony is on behalf of the nearly 3,000 members of the Ohio Chapter and urges opposition to House Bill 253. The testimony cites the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's Fireworks Report for 2017 as attributing approximately 12,900 hospital emergency room injuries and eight fatalities to fireworks. It also states that injuries increased from 8,600 in 2010 to 12,900 in 2017.

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“Testimony of Bill Cotton, MD - House Bill 253, Fireworks Legalization (February 5th, 2020).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2020-02-05-commerce-labor-testimony-hb253cottonopponent-4accad90ec/, SHA-256 0924c9a4225973a70aa0fa16af7ae127c4b8179cff32be374f0facff6ab0aff2.

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                      Ohio Chapter

                     Testimony of Bill Cotton, MD, FAAP
                       House Bill 253 – Fireworks Legalization
                                  February 5th, 2020

Chairman Manning, Vice Chair Dean, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan, and members
of the House Commerce and Labor Committee, thank you for the opportunity to
provide testimony today. My name is Bill Cotton and I am here today on behalf of the
nearly 3,000 members of the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to
urge your opposition to House Bill 253.

I have served as a pediatrician in a busy pediatric Emergency Department and as the
advocacy co-chair for the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Throughout my career I have cared for children who have been injured by fireworks
in Ohio. I am proud to reside in a state that cares enough about child safety to
prohibit the discharge of consumer fireworks, and I hope the committee will maintain
that commitment.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2017 Fireworks Report,
fireworks were responsible for approximately 12,900 injuries treated at hospital
emergency rooms that year; the report also attributed eight fatalities to fireworks
discharge. This data does not capture injuries treated at other facilities, including
outpatient clinics, trauma centers, and urgent care centers. Here are some
interesting facts about these 12,900 injuries—

o In 2017, 36% of fireworks related injuries were to children younger than 15 years
  of age. 50% of fireworks related injuries were to individuals younger than 20
  years of age;

o Children ages 10 to 14 had the highest rate of ER visits for fireworks related
  injuries of any age group (5.9 injuries per 100,000 people).

o Nearly half of fireworks related injuries are to individuals not directly involved in
  the discharge of fireworks;

o Injuries have increased from 8,600 in 2010 to 12,900 in 2017, which is a 50%
  increase.
Further, a 2016 research project presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies
Meeting found that, as states relaxed laws related to fireworks sales during the past
decade, emergency doctors saw an increase in both the number of fireworks related
injuries among children and the severity of those injuries. This report, combined with
the documented increase in fireworks injuries in recent years, clearly demonstrate
that the relaxing of fireworks laws in by other states are driving an increase in
injuries. I do not believe now is the time for Ohio to contribute to this alarming trend.

Further, many critics of Ohio’s fireworks law will tell you that the law is often
disregarded or not enforced. Every year, we see news reports across the state of
injuries to children and damage to property resulting from fireworks discharge.
Despite a statewide ban on consumer discharge, we are still seeing the negative
effects of consumer fireworks usage. However, this is not a justification for repealing
the current prohibition on 1.4g fireworks discharge.

Fireworks are inherently dangerous and we should consider what kind of statement
we will make as a state by repealing the consumer fireworks ban. Many supporters
of HB 253 would argue that people ought to have the right to discharge fireworks on
their property as a display of freedom. Indeed, in a few weeks many of us will gather
to celebrate Independence Day with our family and friends and enjoy public
fireworks displays. Some Ohioans will purchase and discharge consumer fireworks,
and inevitably others will be injured as a result.

Passage of HB 253 would result in a statewide declaration that fireworks are not
dangerous; the statistics say otherwise. In closing, I urge the committee to oppose HB
253. It is my hope that Ohio will continue to stand up for child health and safety.
Thank you for your time and I would be happy to answer any questions that you
might have.

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