Child Safety is Job One

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Child Safety is Job One

Fri Mar 4, 2016

According to the Poison Prevention Information Center, nine out of ten poisoning incidents involving children occur in the home. Medicines, household cleaners, and other chemicals are common sources of unintentional poisoning.

The Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA) defines special packaging as “packaging that is designed or constructed to be significantly difficult for children under the age of five years of age to open or to obtain a toxic or harmful amount of the substance contained therein within a reasonable time, but not difficult for normal adults to use properly”.

For a package to be child-resistant, 80% of the children must not open the package during 10 minutes of testing and 90% of the adults must be able to open the package within 5 minutes. Research has shown that CR packaging prevents 40%-80% of childhood poisonings.

Recently, President Barack Obama signed the “Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015” which requires all packaging of liquid nicotine containers to be subject to existing child poisoning prevention packaging standards.  While currently covered under the PPPA and 16CFR1700, should there be more done to protect our children from other product categories besides nicotine? Oral care products (mouthwash containing 3 grams or more of ethanol)? Household cleaners with more than 10% hydrocarbons or other petroleum based liquid cleaner? Laundry Detergent/paint thinner/antifreeze containing turpentine, sulfuric acid, or ethylene glycol at 10% or more? Cannabis products containing 10 mg of THC per dose?

Unfortunately, we are in a very litigious society, yet I believe our first and foremost obligation is to keep our children safe. If the end result keeps the attorneys at bay, then as business people we have achieved two goals in one step.