Experts point to products that shouldn't make this year's gift list.
November 23, 2005 (Press Release) --
Holiday Toy Report Lists Perilous Playthings
Experts point to products that shouldn't make this year's gift list.
By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Yo-yos that can snap back and strangle, dolls impregnated with toxins and pacifiers that choke: All toys for sale this holiday season that should not find their way to Santa's sleigh, according the annual Toy Safety Survey from the nonprofit U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG).
Released Tuesday, the report finds too many toys marketed with too-small pieces (a choking hazard) or containing toxins that may cause lasting harm.
While the report details dozens of potentially perilous playthings, "there are two types of toys that parents should know more about and become concerned about," said Alison Cassady, PIRG's research director and author of this year's report.
The first is the water yo-yo ball. "There is no single manufacturer," she said. "A lot of them are made in China. It has a long stretchy cord and a ball at the end with water or other liquid. A loop is at the end of the string. You can throw it around like a regular yo-yo but this just goes out about five feet and snaps back quickly. If you swing it like a lasso it wraps around your neck."
The three yo-yo balls listed in the report include the "Water Yo-Yo Ball" (assorted makers), "Flashing Jellyfish/Flashing Noodle Yo-Yo" (assorted makers), and "Bungee-Roos" animal yo-yos by Ganz.
The toys have prompted many calls from concerned parents, she said. "The yo-yo wraps around the child's neck and the parents have had to bite it off or cut it off. Sometimes it snaps back with such force it causes permanent eye injury. A lot of retail stores have voluntarily stopped selling them, but you can still find them in smaller toy stores or on the Internet."
Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), told the Associated Press that these yo-yo toys have not been subject to recall, although the agency recommends that parents cut the toy's cord. The CPSC is set to issue its own toy report Nov. 30.
The other key hazard to know about, Cassady said, are chemicals called phthalates (the "ph" is silent), used as softeners in plastic toys. This year, PIRG commissioned an independent laboratory to test eight kids' toys and other articles marketed for children, all labeled as phthalate-free.
"Six of them contained phthalates," said Cassady. "Phthalates are found in teethers, rubber ducks, bath toys and soft plastic books," she said, citing a few of the uses. "We are submitting a petition to the Federal Trade Commission asking them to investigate [companies that erroneously label products as phthalate-free] as deceptive and unfair marketing."
Phthalates have been associated with reproductive defects, lowered sperm counts, early puberty and cancer, said Cassady.
more details ...
http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docID=529280
Experts point to products that shouldn't make this year's gift list.
By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Yo-yos that can snap back and strangle, dolls impregnated with toxins and pacifiers that choke: All toys for sale this holiday season that should not find their way to Santa's sleigh, according the annual Toy Safety Survey from the nonprofit U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG).
Released Tuesday, the report finds too many toys marketed with too-small pieces (a choking hazard) or containing toxins that may cause lasting harm.
While the report details dozens of potentially perilous playthings, "there are two types of toys that parents should know more about and become concerned about," said Alison Cassady, PIRG's research director and author of this year's report.
The first is the water yo-yo ball. "There is no single manufacturer," she said. "A lot of them are made in China. It has a long stretchy cord and a ball at the end with water or other liquid. A loop is at the end of the string. You can throw it around like a regular yo-yo but this just goes out about five feet and snaps back quickly. If you swing it like a lasso it wraps around your neck."
The three yo-yo balls listed in the report include the "Water Yo-Yo Ball" (assorted makers), "Flashing Jellyfish/Flashing Noodle Yo-Yo" (assorted makers), and "Bungee-Roos" animal yo-yos by Ganz.
The toys have prompted many calls from concerned parents, she said. "The yo-yo wraps around the child's neck and the parents have had to bite it off or cut it off. Sometimes it snaps back with such force it causes permanent eye injury. A lot of retail stores have voluntarily stopped selling them, but you can still find them in smaller toy stores or on the Internet."
Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), told the Associated Press that these yo-yo toys have not been subject to recall, although the agency recommends that parents cut the toy's cord. The CPSC is set to issue its own toy report Nov. 30.
The other key hazard to know about, Cassady said, are chemicals called phthalates (the "ph" is silent), used as softeners in plastic toys. This year, PIRG commissioned an independent laboratory to test eight kids' toys and other articles marketed for children, all labeled as phthalate-free.
"Six of them contained phthalates," said Cassady. "Phthalates are found in teethers, rubber ducks, bath toys and soft plastic books," she said, citing a few of the uses. "We are submitting a petition to the Federal Trade Commission asking them to investigate [companies that erroneously label products as phthalate-free] as deceptive and unfair marketing."
Phthalates have been associated with reproductive defects, lowered sperm counts, early puberty and cancer, said Cassady.
more details ...
http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docID=529280
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