Import monitoring sparks seizure of lighters
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it leveraged its Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center for Import Safety to seize 261,000 cigarette lighters from France last month for not having required child-safety mechanisms. The shipment is valued at $135,000.
The CTAC, established in the first quarter of 2010, houses specialists from CBP and other agencies so they can coordinate to conduct risk assessments of goods coming into the country.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission evaluated a sample from the targeted shipment and determined the lighters violated safety standards for preventing injuries to children.
More than 700 million cigarette lighters are imported each year. An average of 15 children under the age of five die each year and more than 2,000 are treated at hospitals for cigarette-related injuries.
Import monitoring sparks seizure of lighters
