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

[JG]

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."

[Roger Schlafly]

> 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.

[JG]

"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/childcare/handout/parenting-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>

[Bill Fischer]

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."

[Mark Probert]

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.

:)

[Roger Schlafly]

"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.

[Myriah Lesko]

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."
>
>

[Mark]

"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.

[Roger Schlafly]

"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.

[Elizabeth Reid]

"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

[Elizabeth Reid]

"Roger Schlafly" > wrote in message >...
> "Elizabeth Reid" > wrote
> > 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. ...
>
> The warnings become meaningless if every product has scary
> warnings. Even toothpaste now has warnings on it.

Why 'even' toothpaste? Toothpaste having a warning on
it doesn't seem all that strange, it's a quasi-medical
substance even though most people don't think of it that
way. Most products don't have warnings of any kind.

As long as each warning message isn't just WARNING: THIS
PRODUCT MIGHT BE DANGEROUS, I don't think they necessarily
become meaningless as more products are labeled. If each warning
specifies the conditions for safe use and the conditions
under which the product is dangerous, they're not all the
same. In fact, if more things are labeled, people might
get in the habit of looking for the labels and that
would make them more meaningful rather than less.

Beth

[PF Riley]

On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 17:48:38 GMT, "Roger Schlafly"
> wrote:
>
>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.

Here we go again. I honestly think you try to be stupid just to
antagonize people. There is no way you'd even pass a high school
geometry course let alone get an advanced degree in mathematics if you
lack logic thinking skills the way you demonstrate.

Read this again and think carefully about it:

>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."

Do you know what "Russian roulette" is? Do you know how absurd it is
when I tell parents about popcorn and they say, "Oh, he eats it all
the time... he's been fine." SO WHAT? It only takes once, you idiot.

PF

[JG]

"Mark Probert" > wrote in message
. net...

> http://www.thetzsite.com/pages/episodes/089.html

That's what gave me the idea. :-D Big fan of "The Twilight Zone" (and
later "[Rod Serling's] Night Gallery") Also of "The Outer Limits." I
still remember my mom being appalled that I'd watch that stuff. Beat
the heck outta the "Who Wants to Marry My Millionaire (or Maybe Not)
ex-Mother-in-Law After She Eats a Gazillion Bugs in the Amazon and..."
shows on TV today, if you ask me!