Child-Resistant and Novelty Lighters Regulations, 2006

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta, Nru. 18,001, 24 ta’ Novembru, 2006

L.N. 286 of 2006

PRODUCT SAFETY ACT

Child-Resistant and Novelty Lighters Regulations, 2006

IN exercise of the powers conferred by articles 38 to 40 of the

Product Safety Act, the Minister for Competitiveness and

Communications, on the advice of the Malta Standards Authority, has

made the following regulations>-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Child-Resistant and Scope, citation and

commencement.

Novelty Lighters Regulations, 2006.

(2) These regulations transpose Commission Decision

2006#502#EC 1 of the 11 th May, 2006 requiring Member States to take

measures to ensure that only lighters which are child-resistant are placed

on the market and to prohibit the placing on the market of novelty

lighters.

(3) These regulations shall come into force on publication

date.

Provided that only lighters which are child-resistant are placed

on the market as of the 11 th March, 2007>

Provided further that as of the 11 th March, 2007, the placing

on the market of novelty lighters shall be prohibited>

Provided also that the prohibition referred to in Article 13(3)

of Directive 2001#95#EC on general product safety 2 , as transposed by

regulation 7(1) of the ‘Further Provisions for Product Withdrawal and L.N. 323 of 2004.

Recall Regulations, 2004’, shall not apply.

(1) For the purposes of these regulations, the following Definitions.

definitions shall apply>

OJ No. L198, 20-07-2006, p. 41 (This text annulled and replaced the text published

in Official Journal L 197 of 19 July 2006, p. 9).

OJ No. L11, 15-01-2002, p. 4.

“child-resistance test” means a systematic test of child-

resistance of a given model of lighter, on a sample of the lighters

considered, in particular tests made in accordance with MSA EN

13869>2002, as far as the specifications other than those in

paragraphs 3.1, 3.4 and 5.2.3 of the Standard are concerned, or in

accordance with the testing requirements of the relevant rules of

non-EU countries where child-resistance requirements equivalent

to those established by these regulations are in force<

“child-resistant lighter” means a lighter designed and

manufactured in such a way that it cannot, under normal or

reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, be operated by children

younger than 51 months of age because of, for instance, the force

needed to operate it or because of its design or the protection of its

ignition mechanism, or the complexity or sequence of operations

needed for the ignition.

A lighter shall be presumed to be child-resistant if -

(a) it conforms to MSA EN 13869>2002, as far as the

specifications other than those in paragraphs 3.1, 3.4 and 5.2.3

of the Standard are concerned<

(b) it conforms to the relevant rules of the non-EU

countries where child-resistance requirements equivalent to

those established by these regulations are in force<

“distributor” has the meaning as defined in Article 2(f) of

Directive 2001#95#EC, as transposed by regulation 2 of the Product

Safety Act<

“the Director” means the Director of Consumer Affairs<

“lighter” means a manually operated flame-producing device

employing a fuel, normally used for deliberately igniting in

particular cigarettes, cigars and pipes, and which may foreseeably

be used to ignite materials such as paper, wicks, candles and

lanterns, manufactured with an integral supply of fuel, whether

intended to be refuelled or not. Without prejudice to the prohibition

of the placing on the market of novelty lighters established in

regulation 1(3) of these regulations, this definition shall not apply

to refillable lighters for which producers provide on request to the

competent authorities the necessary documentation substantiating

that the lighters are designed, manufactured and placed on the

market such as to ensure a continual expected safe use over a

lifetime of at least five years, subject to repair, and which fulfill in

particular all of the following requirements>

(a) a written guarantee from the producer of at least

two years for each lighter, in accordance with Directive

1999#44#EC 3 <

(b) the practical possibility to be repaired and safely

refilled over the entire lifetime, including in particular a

repairable ignition mechanism<

(c) parts that are not consumable, but are likely to wear

out or fail in continual use after the guarantee period, are

accessible for replacement or repair by an authorised or

specialized after-sales service centre based in the European

Union<

“model of lighter” means lighters from the same producer

that do not differ in design or other characteristics in any manner

that may affect child-resistance<

“novelty lighter”means a flame-producing product commonly

used by consumers to ignite cigarettes, cigars and pipes, including

any holder which can be incorporated later or any attachment which

can be fixed later, that resembles by any means to another object

commonly recognised as appealing to or intended for use by

children younger than 51 months, or has entertaining audio effects

or animated effects. A novelty lighter can operate on any fuel,

including butane or liquid fuel. This includes, but is not limited to,

lighters or holders that are clearly intended to hold lighters, the

shape of which resembles cartoon characters, toys, guns, watches,

telephones, musical instruments, vehicles, human body or parts of

the human body, animals, food or beverages, or that play musical

notes, or have flashing lights or moving objects or other entertaining

features. This excludes lighters that are printed or decorated with

logos, labels, decals, artwork or heat shrinkable sleeves<

“producer” means>

(a) the manufacturer of the product, when he is established

in Malta, and any other person presenting himself as the

manufacturer by affixing to the product his name, trademark or

other distinctive mark, or

OJ No. L171, 07-07-1999, p. 12.

(b) the person who reconditions the product< or

(c) the manufacturer’s representative, when the

manufacturer is not established in Malta or, if there is no

representative established in Malta, the importer of the product< or

(d) others in the supply chain, in so far as their activities

may affect the safety aspects of a product placed on the market.

(1) As from 11 th March, 2007, producers shall, as a condition

for placing lighters on the market>

(a) keep and provide on request without delay to the

Director a report of a child-resistance test for each model of lighters

with samples of the lighters of the tested model, certifying the

child-resistance of the model of lighters placed on the market<

(b) attest on request to the Director that all lighters in each

of the batches placed on the market conform to the model tested

and provide on request to the authorities the documentation on the

testing and control programme supporting such an attestation<

(c) continuously monitor conformity of the lighters

produced with the technical solutions adopted to ensure child-

resistance, using appropriate testing methods and to maintain at

the disposal of the Director the production records necessary to

show that all lighters produced conform to the model tested<

(d) keep and provide on request without delay to the

Director a new report of a child- resistance test if any changes are

made to a model of lighter that may adversely affect the ability of

the model to meet the requirements of these regulations.

(2) As from 11 th March, 2007, distributors shall be required

to keep and provide without delay to the Director on request the

documentation necessary to identify any person from whom they have

been supplied with the lighters they place on the market, in order to

ensure traceability of the producer of the lighters throughout the supply

chain.

(3) Lighters for which producers and distributors do not

provide the documentation mentioned in regulations 3(1) and 3(2) of

these regulations within the deadline fixed by the Director, shall be

withdrawn from the market.

(1) Reports of a child-resistance test referred to in regulation Child-resistance

test.

3 of these regulations shall include in particular>

(a) the name, address and principal place of business of the

manufacturer wherever he is located, and of the importer if the

lighters are imported<

(b) a complete description of the lighter, including size,

shape, weight, fuel, fuel capacity, ignition mechanism, and child-

resistance devices, design, technical solutions and other features

that make the lighter child-resistant in accordance with the

definitions and requirements of these regulations. In particular this

will include a detailed description of all dimensions, force

requirements, or other features that could affect the child-resistance

of the lighter, including the manufacturer’s tolerances for each

such feature<

(c) a detailed description of the tests and of the results

obtained, the dates of the tests, the location where the tests have

been performed, the identity of the organisation that conducted

the tests and details of the qualification and competence of such

organisation to conduct the tests concerned<

(d) the identification of the place where the lighters are or

have been manufactured<

(e) the location where the documentation required by these

regulations is kept<

(f) references of the accreditation or recognition of the

testing body.

(2) Reports of a child-resistance test referred to in regulation

3 of these regulations shall be established by either>

(a) testing bodies accredited as fulfilling the requirements

established by MSA EN ISO#IEC 17025>2000 ‘General

requirements for the competence of testing and calibration

laboratories’, by a member of the International Laboratory

Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) for executing child-resistance

tests on lighters or otherwise recognised to that end by the

Directorate or by the competent authority of the country of export<

(i) Such bodies are subject to the Method for

Designating Conformity Assessment Bodies Regulations, L.N. 136 of 2003.

2003. (b) testing bodies whose reports of a child-resistance test

are accepted by one of the countries where child-resistance

requirements equivalent to those established by these regulations

are applied.