U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
 

www.reutershealth.com, Health eLine, 7/17/03

U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking

[Which would no doubt be about as effective as the warnings on cigarette
packs... yeehaw...]
Last Updated: 2003-07-17 15:58:01 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Joan Stavros Adler thought she was doing the
right thing when she sliced her son's hot-dog into coin-sized pieces.

But 4-year-old Eric choked on a slice and died in front of her.

Adler did not know that a safer way to serve hot dogs to children under
5 is to slice the entire hot dog lengthwise into quarters, and then cut
off individual bites. She spoke on Thursday in support of a bill aimed
at making food manufacturers label products with such instructions.

"There are no universal warnings of the risks presented by certain foods
such as hot dogs, grapes, peanuts, and popcorn--foods routinely given to
children, but shown to be risky for them," Adler told a news conference.

Two House of Representatives members, California Democrat Mike Honda and
New Jersey Republican Mike Ferguson, introduced a bill intended to make
the Food and Drug Administration investigate unusual food choking
incidents.

"While we have a great system in place to warn parents of choking
hazards posed by toys, the FDA's oversight of food choking hazards is
ineffective," Honda said.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics, one
U.S. child dies from choking on food every five days and more than
10,000 children are taken to hospital emergency rooms for food choking
injuries every year.

Bruce Silverglade, director of legal affairs for the Center for Science
in the Public Interest, a nonprofit group that campaigns on food issues,
said parents were often surprised to learn that a single kernel of
popcorn can choke a child.

"They can eat it 10 times and it's kind of like Russian roulette," he
said. "Popcorn is particularly dangerous because it can swell up in the
throat."

Adler said she even asked her pediatrician about hot dogs and was told
they posed no special risk to her son.

"I took special precautions during Eric's short life to protect him from
what I considered the dangers of life--holding his hand in a parking
lot, locking the gate of the swimming pool, reading toy labels to make
sure they were appropriate for his age," she said.

"I am an educated person but I never realized how dangerous a hot dog
could be."

U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
 

Adler said she even asked her pediatrician about hot dogs and was told
they posed no special risk to her son.

Is she going to sue her ped?

"I am an educated person but I never realized how dangerous a hot dog
could be."

If hot dogs and other such foods get warning labels, then we are going
to get a lot of warning labels.

U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
 

"Roger Schlafly" wrote in message
. ..

Adler said she even asked her pediatrician about hot dogs and was
told
they posed no special risk to her son.

I wonder how old her son was at the time she asked the pediatrician; if
he (the son) was four, it's quite possible the doctor was simply relying
on AAP guidelines. (See
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/food.htm).

Is she going to sue her ped?

Hehe. And if the ped doesn't have a lot of $$$, maybe she could go
after the AAP.

"I am an educated person but I never realized how dangerous a hot
dog
could be."

BS, IMO. "Never realized"? More likely "never bothered to think
about." (And just *what* did she ask the pediatrician about; hot dog
nutrition? Nitrates?) The "word" about the choking danger posed by hot
dogs (and grapes, popcorn, nuts,...) has been out for a long time.
Apparently there are even reports of knife-wielding strangers
approaching toddlers and cutting up their hot dogs for them. (See
http://www.city.davis.ca.us/pcs/chil...ng-2001nov.pdf.
)

If hot dogs and other such foods get warning labels, then we are going
to get a lot of warning labels.

....At an enormous cost and inconvenience. Shoot, I sometimes have
trouble getting the stickers off plums and apples now; itty-bitty
stickers on grapes are gonna be a REAL pain in the ass.g (And to the
eyes; my vision's deteriorating.) sigh

U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
 

Wow! It never occurred to me that the hot dog should be sliced
lengthwise when serving children. Makes sense.

The problem here, it seems to me, isn't with the hot dog.

Mom should have been working on this child about the importance of
properly chewing food before swallowing.

Or should she sue the pediatrician because he/she didn't chew the
child's food for him?

Some adults have died trying to swallow down big chunks of beefsteak.
Their families should sue the internists? I'm sure those internists
never once mentioned the importance of proper mastication.

Maybe we should all sue Oscar Meyer for selling weapons of mass
destruction? :)

JG wrote:
Is she going to sue her ped?


Hehe. And if the ped doesn't have a lot of $$$, maybe she could go
after the AAP.


"I am an educated person but I never realized how dangerous a hot

dog

could be."

U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
 

Bill Fischer wrote:

Wow! It never occurred to me that the hot dog should be sliced
lengthwise when serving children. Makes sense.

Now you know the long and the short of hot dog eating. I hope you can
cut the mustard,when it comes to this.

:)

U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
 

"Elizabeth Reid" wrote
U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
"I am an educated person but I never realized how dangerous a hot dog
could be."
So what's your feeling about this, JG? Here's an educated person
who missed a danger. Should an "expert" have warned her, or not?

The danger is exaggerated. How many kids die every year from hot
dogs? Most toddlers can chew hot dogs just fine. Mine loved hot
dogs, and never had a problem.

U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
 

Good to hear. Whether they are read or not, it can't hurt.

--
Myriah Lesko
Pharmacist
e-drugsCanada
http://www.e-drugsCanada.com

"JG" wrote in message
.. .
www.reutershealth.com, Health eLine, 7/17/03

U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking

[Which would no doubt be about as effective as the warnings on cigarette
packs... yeehaw...]
Last Updated: 2003-07-17 15:58:01 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Joan Stavros Adler thought she was doing the
right thing when she sliced her son's hot-dog into coin-sized pieces.

But 4-year-old Eric choked on a slice and died in front of her.

Adler did not know that a safer way to serve hot dogs to children under
5 is to slice the entire hot dog lengthwise into quarters, and then cut
off individual bites. She spoke on Thursday in support of a bill aimed
at making food manufacturers label products with such instructions.

"There are no universal warnings of the risks presented by certain foods
such as hot dogs, grapes, peanuts, and popcorn--foods routinely given to
children, but shown to be risky for them," Adler told a news conference.

Two House of Representatives members, California Democrat Mike Honda and
New Jersey Republican Mike Ferguson, introduced a bill intended to make
the Food and Drug Administration investigate unusual food choking
incidents.

"While we have a great system in place to warn parents of choking
hazards posed by toys, the FDA's oversight of food choking hazards is
ineffective," Honda said.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics, one
U.S. child dies from choking on food every five days and more than
10,000 children are taken to hospital emergency rooms for food choking
injuries every year.

Bruce Silverglade, director of legal affairs for the Center for Science
in the Public Interest, a nonprofit group that campaigns on food issues,
said parents were often surprised to learn that a single kernel of
popcorn can choke a child.

"They can eat it 10 times and it's kind of like Russian roulette," he
said. "Popcorn is particularly dangerous because it can swell up in the
throat."

Adler said she even asked her pediatrician about hot dogs and was told
they posed no special risk to her son.

"I took special precautions during Eric's short life to protect him from
what I considered the dangers of life--holding his hand in a parking
lot, locking the gate of the swimming pool, reading toy labels to make
sure they were appropriate for his age," she said.

"I am an educated person but I never realized how dangerous a hot dog
could be."

U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
 

"Roger Schlafly" wrote in message . ..
"Elizabeth Reid" wrote
U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
"I am an educated person but I never realized how dangerous a hot dog
could be."
So what's your feeling about this, JG? Here's an educated person
who missed a danger. Should an "expert" have warned her, or not?

The danger is exaggerated. How many kids die every year from hot
dogs? Most toddlers can chew hot dogs just fine. Mine loved hot
dogs, and never had a problem.


You didn't answer the question. Should pediatricians bring up the
topic of choking hazards and risk offending "educated" parents (such
as yourself), or should they wait around until they get sued by the
parents of a dead kid because they DIDN'T warn the parents about
choking hazards? You seem to be coming down on both sides of this
one.

Mark, MD

P.S. The extent of the warnings I give to parents is generally, "At
his age he can eat anything he isn't going to choke on." I try to
trust their common sense, and they can't say I didn't mention it.

U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
 

"Mark" wrote
P.S. The extent of the warnings I give to parents is generally, "At
his age he can eat anything he isn't going to choke on." I try to
trust their common sense, and they can't say I didn't mention it.

Ok with me. I am with you as far as eliminating lawsuits on stuff
like this. I don't even think that the Taiwanese gel candy maker
should be sued, and I certainly don't think that the ped should be
sued for failing to give some sort of warning.

U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
 

"Roger Schlafly" wrote in message . ..
"Elizabeth Reid" wrote
U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
"I am an educated person but I never realized how dangerous a hot dog
could be."
So what's your feeling about this, JG? Here's an educated person
who missed a danger. Should an "expert" have warned her, or not?

The danger is exaggerated. How many kids die every year from hot
dogs? Most toddlers can chew hot dogs just fine. Mine loved hot
dogs, and never had a problem.

Well, sure. If something is uniformly fatal to infants, few
parents are going to consider giving it to them. I don't
see there being a big push to warn parents that rat poison
can be fatal to infants, because, well, duh.

At some level I agree with what I'm charitably going to assume
is your underlying premise, that at some point dangers are
small enough that it's not 'worth' mounting a big
societal effort to eradicate them. But is your basis for
concluding that this danger is one of them really that
your kids survived hot dogs? That's lame.

Beth