EcoWaste Coalition Calls Attention to Choking Hazards from Fidget Spinners




A watch group promoting safe toys today cautioned parents and their kids against choking hazards posed by fidget spinners, the latest toy craze.

The EcoWaste Coalition aired the precautionary warning to prevent children from ingesting the small parts of the addictive fidget spinner toys that can cause choking.

“Fidget spinners are fun to play with.  But, their small parts, particularly the bearings and bushings, may not be tightly secured, can come off and get ingested by kids,” warned Thony Dizon, Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect.

“To be on the safe side, we advise parents not let their kids play with toys with small parts, which, if swallowed, may obstruct the flow of air into the lungs and prevent breathing,” he said.

The group issued the toy choking hazard warning after Briton Joniec, a 10-year old girl from Houston, Texas, accidentally swallowed one of the bearings from her fidget spinner, which got lodged in her esophagus.

Her mother Kelly Rose shared the incident through a Facebook post to warn other parents about the choking hazards of the popular finger toy.

”Fidget spinners are the current craze so they are widely distributed. Kids of all ages may be getting them, but not all spinners come with age-appropriate warnings. The bushings pop out easily, so if you have young kids keep in mind that these present a potential choking hazard,” she said in her Facebook post.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “choking is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children, especially those aged 3 years or younger (with) food, coins, and toys (as) the primary causes of choking-related injury and death.”

To prevent choking incidents, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Philippines has repeatedly reminded consumers "not to give toys with small parts to children under the age of three years as children have a tendency to put toys in their mouths."

The EcoWaste Coalition warned that some fidget spinners, particularly those sold in Divisoria, may have not gone through the verification process of the FDA, the lead regulatory agency for toys and childcare articles (TCCAs). 

Fidget spinners that do not have valid TCCA product notifications would be illegal to sell, the EcoWaste Coalition said.

Duly notified TCCAs will contain the following information on the label:

- LTO number issued by FDA;
- Age grade;
- Cautionary statements/ warnings;
- Instructional literature;
- Item/ Model/ SKU No. of the product; and
- Manufacturer’s marking wherein the complete name and address of the manufacturer or distributor are reflected.

-end-

Reference:

To read the Facebook post of Kelly Rose Joniec, please see this link:
https://archive.is/52LcV#selection-1807.60-1807.356
To read the “Public Health Warning Against the Use of Toys and Childcare Articles (TCCA) Products With No FDA Certificate of Product Notification,” please see:
http://www.fda.gov.ph/advisories-2/cosmetic-2/347686-fda-advisory-no-2016-074

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