Recent research provides a clear example of the dangers of deregulation. The study found that, in the wake of the reversal of the ban on these products, which was imposed years ago, U.S. In, the cells of the toxin center associated with children swallowing high-powered magnets went up significantly.
High-strength magnets (10 to 30 times more powerful than the typical version) are derived from rare earth metals and began appearing in adult-marketing products such as children’s toys as well as desk toys in the early 2000s. Of course, any small thing can be potentially dangerous for children, who put things in their mouths and swallow or suffocate on them. But when there are more of these magnets Swallowed (Or a magnet and another piece of metal), obstructing or damaging the intestines by a powerful pull between them. In the worst cases, the victims are dead or need emergency surgery to remove parts of their bowel.
In 2012, the Consumer Product Safety Commission began sabotaging the sale of these magnets in toys through voluntary recalls. By 2014, the new federal rule essentially banned them from the market. However, in late 2016, U.S. The Court of Appeals violated this rule, and the magnets were once again widely available by 2018.
The research, Published In late January, the journal Pediatric Pediatrics studied how policy changes could affect the prevalence of these injuries. They analyzed national toxin control data from 2008 to 2019, particularly looking at calls involving swallowing magnets involving children under 19 years of age.
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During the total period, there were only over 5,700 magnet-related calls. Compared to the period 2008 to 2011, the average number of these calls decreased by 33% each year between 2012 and 2017. But once the magnet returned, the calls skyrocketed. In 2018 and 2019, the average number of calls per year increased by 444% compared to the period when magnets were banned. There has also been a 355% increase in the number of calls for serious medical care such as hospitalization. What’s more, 39% of all magnet-related calls in the study came from those two years alone.
Poison Control Calls Is not responsible for every serious injury that occurs in, so a representative of the study’s conclusion on how dangerous these magnets are is not necessary. But other recent research has shown a similar pattern using reliable injury data. A study Published For example, in December 2020, it was found that the rate of magnet-related visits to children in the ER increased by 3% from 2001 to 2019 compared to 2013 to 2013. Found U.S. At least 15,000 children went to the ER between 2010 and 2015 with magnet-related injuries, but the cases began to decline in 2012 after CSPC proceedings.
While at least one company has only recently Mortgaged To stop making high-strength magnet products after a long legal battle with the CSPC, researchers have warned that far-reaching changes will be needed to solve the problem. In the present study, for example, the rate of these toxin control calls has also increased in older children. Adolescents may not intentionally swallow these magnets like small children, but they may accidentally drink them when using them as a fake tongue or lip piercing.
“These results indicate an increased need for preventive or legal efforts,” the study authors wrote.
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