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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." |
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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. |
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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 $$$, maybe she could go after the AAP. "I am an educated person but I never realized how dangerous a hot dog could be." BS, IMO. "Never realized"? More likely "never bothered to think about." (And just *what* did she ask the pediatrician about; hot dog nutrition? Nitrates?) The "word" about the choking danger posed by hot dogs (and grapes, popcorn, nuts,...) has been out for a long time. Apparently there are even reports of knife-wielding strangers approaching toddlers and cutting up their hot dogs for them. (See http://www.city.davis.ca.us/pcs/chil...ng-2001nov.pdf. ) If hot dogs and other such foods get warning labels, then we are going to get a lot of warning labels. ....At an enormous cost and inconvenience. Shoot, I sometimes have trouble getting the stickers off plums and apples now; itty-bitty stickers on grapes are gonna be a REAL pain in the ass.g (And to the eyes; my vision's deteriorating.) sigh |
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U.S. bill would require labels to warn of choking
Wow! It never occurred to me that the hot dog should be sliced
lengthwise when serving children. Makes sense. The problem here, it seems to me, isn't with the hot dog. Mom should have been working on this child about the importance of properly chewing food before swallowing. Or should she sue the pediatrician because he/she didn't chew the child's food for him? Some adults have died trying to swallow down big chunks of beefsteak. Their families should sue the internists? I'm sure those internists never once mentioned the importance of proper mastication. Maybe we should all sue Oscar Meyer for selling weapons of mass destruction? JG wrote: Is she going to sue her ped? Hehe. And if the ped doesn't have a lot of $$$, maybe she could go after the AAP. "I am an educated person but I never realized how dangerous a hot dog could be." |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 |
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