The AP (7/8) reported that at least 10 members of the House of Representatives “are asking the Food and Drug Administration to look into” whether women using keratin-based hair straighteners, including the popular Brazilian Blowout, are exposed to high levels of formaldehyde. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) said she had heard that users of such products … Read more
USA Today (5/18, Szabo) reports, “Since 1992, rates of melanoma — once considered an old person’s disease — have risen 3% a year in white women ages 15 to 39, according to the American Cancer Society.” Alarmingly, many young women who are developing melanoma have spent time tanning indoors at salons. According to a study … Read more
Parents, this is a story you should read, especially if you’re using an older or used crib. The Wall Street Journal (4/19, Beck) reported that, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, puffy bumpers, bedding, and stuffed animals all pose suffocation hazards to infants less than 12 months old. … Read more
The New York Times /AP (4/13, A19, Subscription Publication) reports that on Monday, regulators from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that “a popular hair smoothing treatment called Brazilian Blowout can release unsafe levels of formaldehyde, posing a risk to salon workers and customers.” OSHA officials “also said they have found the … Read more
In an editorial titled “How Quickly They Forget,” the New York Times (2/24, A26) questions efforts to undo safety regulations regarding children’s products. The Times notes the House’s decision to slash funding from a product-safety reporting website, a result of the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. House Republicans are also railing against requirements for … Read more
The Washington Post (2/28, Layton) reports, “The first-ever government database of product safety complaints, which is scheduled to go public in two weeks, could be scrapped as a result of a budget amendment offered by a freshman member of the House,” Rep. Mike Pompeo. Pompeo, a Republican, “won support for a measure to withhold money … Read more
Thirty to 40 percent of kids and teens consume energy drinks which are high in caffeine, sugar and other stimulants. However, as the AP (2/13) reported, “Energy drinks are under-studied, overused and can be dangerous for children and teens, warns a report by doctors who say kids shouldn’t use the popular products. The potential harms, … Read more
The Consumer Product Safety Commission will launch a new public database that tracks customer product safety complaints.
The Los Angeles Times (1/19, Forgione) “Booster Shots” blog reported that eye “doctors aren’t crazy” about nonprescription “circle lenses,” contacts “that create a big-eye look made popular by Lady Gaga and Japanese anime characters.” The blog entry referred to an article in the Chicago Tribune (1/13, Stein) that explained that the lenses may cause allergic … Read more
Bloomberg News (12/8, Plungis) reported a study run by Michigan-based The Ecology Center, which revealed “fifty-four percent of holiday lights tested in a US study had more lead than regulators permit in children’s products, with some strands containing more than 30 times those levels.” Center research director Jeff Gearhart said “The last thing families want … Read more
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