Brussels, 16/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - 'Accidents, rather than illnesses, are the main killer of children up to the age of 14', explained Joanne Vincenten, Director of the European Child Safety Alliance, at a hearing on child safety organised in Brussels on 9 November, attended by MEPs, adding: 'Injuries kill twice as many children as cancer and eight times as many as respiratory conditions, such as asthma.' Small design changes to how cars, cigarettes, cigarette lighters and baby walkers are manufactured could avert hundreds of deaths among children in the EU each year. Three simple changes were outlined at the hearing: 1) a minor change to car design was identified as likely to make the biggest impact. 'Car fronts need to have rounded fronts with a structure underneath that allows some give should it come into contact with a child's head,' said Frazer Goodwin of the European Child Safety Council, adding that the Commission would soon be unveiling legislation amending current provisions. 2) Self-extinguishing cigarettes can now be produced to avert fires at home, which kill some 1000 people a year in the EU (fires caused by cigarette ends and matches). 3) Design standard changes to baby walkers and similar that are used for more than one child (sold or given second-hand) can make them more sturdy. Summing up, Philip Whitehead, chair of the European Parliament Internal Market and Consumers Committee, said: 'We have the arguments - both on saving lives and on the reasons why it makes economic sense to introduce these measures. Industry lobbying can be ferocious but wise manufacturers know than new, safer products make happy customers and then everyone gains.' Whitehead will be briefing Internal Market and Consumer Protection Commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, on the key messages from the hearing next week.