April 17, 2001

Gladstrong Investments USA Announces Recall of Disposable Lighters

Gladstrong Investments USA, of Hacienda Heights, Calif., is voluntarily recalling about 13 million disposable lighters. The lighters' child-resistant mechanisms are frequently ineffective. Young children are able to operate the lighters, posing a fire hazard.

Gladstrong Investments has received a report of a 4- year-old girl who died after starting a fire with a Gladstrong Investments lighter and then hid in a closet. The fire caused an estimated $72,000 in damages. In another incident, two brothers, a 4- year-old and a 6-year-old, reportedly ignited clothing and paper inside a car while playing with one of these lighters causing about $1,500 in damages. They were not injured.

The recalled lighters have their brand name, "BODA-BING," "GIL," "HAPPY," or "WAX" stamped on both sides of their metal tops. The UPC bar code on the lighters' labels is "0-80692-99930-1," "0-295114-0" or starts with "7-55998." Writing on these lighters includes "MADE IN CHINA." The lighters were sold in various colors. Convenience, drug and discount stores nationwide sold these lighters from January 1998 through February 2001 for about $1.

Consumers should stop using these lighters immediately and return them to the store where purchased for a refund. For more information, call Gladstrong at (877) 666-0664 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday.