ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512130067
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post|
Ordinary rubber balloons, those ubiquitous symbols of childhood joy, are a deadly choking hazard to children of all ages, new research has found.
Balloons ``kill more children than any other toy except for bicycles and other riding toys,'' according to an article in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
A second report in the journal cites balloons as the cause of 131 choking deaths nationwide between 1972 and 1992 - 29 percent of all such childhood fatalities reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Researchers calculated that the risk is approximately twice as high for children 3 or older than for those who are younger.
Neither the design nor composition of balloons is regulated by the CPSC, although federal law recently required manufacturers to include label warnings that balloons pose an asphyxiation hazard to children under age 8.
Frank L. Rimell of the University of Minnesota and colleagues also note in today's JAMA that many toys that meet federal safety guidelines for children younger than 3 have been involved in fatal choking incidents. The researchers examined four years of medical records from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and CPSC death records from 1972 to 1992
They found that most of the Pittsburgh choking cases were caused by coins and food, notably hot dogs, nuts, vegetable or fruit pieces, seeds and popcorn. Other objects included batteries, chicken bones, pen caps, pieces of plastic and wood, string and small toys.
Of 449 choking deaths from man-made objects reported to the CPSC over 20 years, the group discovered, 14 were caused by toys that met the CPSC's standard size test for toys used by children under 3, who are prone to put things in their mouths: a minimum diameter of 1.25 inches and a minimum length ranging from 1 to 2.25 inches.
CPSC is working with toy manufacturers to change their size guidelines on ``a voluntary compliance basis,'' said Ron Medford, the agency's assistant executive director for hazard identification and reduction. Companies are expected to adopt a new minimum diameter standard of 1.68 inches by spring of 1996.
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB