Would you let your 4-year-old daughter take part in a test to determine whether a lighter is safe?
Alongside 99 other kids under the age of 51 months, your child would try to ignite a “surrogate lighter” (basically a fuel-free lighter that produces a visual or auditory signal).
If 85 or more kids fail to ignite it, the lighter is safe under the EN 13869 standard.
The test is, by definition, safe for participants. Still, I imagine it’s not exactly easy (or cheap) to find 200 no overprotective parents who weren’t hesitant about letting their little ones play with lighters, even if they’re completely non-functional.
It’s no surprise that Zippo declares in all caps on their iconic lighter instructions:
THIS LIGHTER IS NOT CHILD RESISTANT
How can they get away with openly admitting that their product doesn’t meet this standard?
Simple: Zippo lighters, being refillable and having a warranty of at least two years, are exempt from this regulation. Good news for the American company, the global leader in premium lighters.
On the other side of the market, we have the disposable lighters giant, Bic, which has made compliance with EN 13869 a cornerstone of their communication strategy. Packaging, in-store displays, brochures, website: everything reminds us that their lighters are child-resistant:
Look at the image above, where you can see the “child-resistant safety guard,” a small roller Bic recently added to their models to ensure even stricter compliance with the standard. Here’s a closer view:
So why am I telling you this story?
Because the owner of the tobacco shop near my house told me her elderly customers have stopped buying Bic lighters -precisely because of the safety guard, which makes them harder to use. They’re also avoiding Bic’s electronic lighters, complaining that they’re “too stiff,” unlike those of competitors.
This is a clear example of "protect children, bother the elderly." (If you can’t find anything about it online - don’t worry, I just made it up 😉). Compliance has definitely a cost.
However, Bic's decision makes perfect sense, not just because any step forward in safety is always a good thing. That little roller is the visible face of Bic's investment in research and development, a key differentiator from its competitors, and a prime example that marketing and compliance don’t have to clash -quite the opposite, in fact.
Next week, we’ll dive into another case of the “protect children, bother the elderly” phenomenon, this time in an even hotter industry. The hottest one, actually: adult entertainment. Yes, we’re talking about porn and compliance.
See you on Thursday for another Bright Story from the Kingdom of Boredom!