Exclusive: Potentially deadly magnetic toys on sale for Christmas [news from Scotland]

Nov 10 2008 By Stephen Stewart on http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news

"DEADLY magnetic toys that have killed at least one child and left others horribly injured are being sold as Christmas gifts in Scots shops.  The plastic building blocks in Magnetix construction sets contain powerful magnets.  And when kids swallow the magnets they can snap together inside their bodies, tearing through their organs and causing gruesome injuries. Doctors have compared the damage caused to knife and gunshot wounds.

The Chinese-made toys were recalled from shop shelves in America after the horrific death of 20-month-old Kenny Sweet.  The toddler swallowed tiny magnets that had fallen out of the building blocks and they twisted his intestines as they snapped together inside him. He died of septic shock.  Despite the harrowing history of Magnetix in the States, Record investigators found a 70-piece set of the building blocks on sale for s6.49 at a Toys R Us store in Glasgow.  We also spotted smaller sets in several corner shops.  The company behind Magnetix, Megabrands, say they have redesigned the toy since Kenny's death to stop the magnets falling out of the blocks.  But the set we bought in Toys R Us dates back to 2006 and is of the old design.

Magnetix is not the only danger magnet toy on sale in Scotland.  In the summer, 18million Polly Pocket, Batman and Doggie Daycare toys were taken off shelves around the world because they contained small magnets.  But our research revealed that many of the Doggie Daycare toys are still being sold on the internet from UK outlets.  Megabrands warn customers that Magnetix is for kids aged six and older and that younger children could swallow the blocks.

But the safety message didn't save little Kenny, of Seattle, who died in 2005 after swallowing magnets from the Magnetix toys that belonged to his 10-year-old brother.  His mum Penny said at the time of his death: "It does say there is a choking hazard on the toys.  "But they don't say it causes serious injury or death, which is the kind of warning they need to have.  "We're in constant agony that our son is gone. You always have that ache in your heart."  Just weeks before Kenny died, four-year-old California tot William Finley was rushed to hospital with a suspected burst appendix.  Doctors soon discovered the real problem. William had three tiny magnets in his intestines and his family said they had come from a Magnetix toy.  Dad Adam said: "The doctors kept telling us William was right on death's door. We almost lost our son over a toy."  Six-year-old Owen Howman, of Ohio, needed life-saving surgery in 2006 after Magnetix magnets he had swallowed cut holes in his bowels and spilled deadly bacteria into his abdomen.  His surgeon described the effect of the magnets as "essentially a gunshot wound or a stab wound".  Owen's mum Angie said of the toys: "I want them off the shelves, I want them gone.  "I don't want another mother to go through what I had to go through."  In February last year, Tegan Leisy, three, of Windsor, Colorado, had eight inches of his intestines removed after swallowing magnets which had fallen out of Magnetix toys. And in May 2008, eight-year-old Haley Lents from Indiana needed surgery to save her life after swallowing 30 magnets and steel balls from a Magnetix set.

Megabrands settled legal action brought by Kenny Sweet's family and a dozen others without admitting any liability. And America's Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled millions of Magnetix toys in 2006 and 2007.  While Kenny Sweet died af ter swallowing loose magnets, Owen Howman and other injured children swallowed the plastic blocks whole. The only way to stop this risk would be to make the blocks bigger.  The UK's Child Accident Prevention Trust called the Record's findings "very disturbing". Projects director Mike Hayes added: "Parents need to understand that some toys can be very dangerous to children if not used correctly.  "It is essential they buy from reputable retailers and follow product instructions ."  Harold Chizick of Megabrands said the dangerous Magnetix toys were designed by another company who used to own the brand.  He insisted: "No global safety standard is as high as the Megabrands standard. Most companies just test products when they have been made but we are constantly testing them from the design onwards."  Megabrands also recently launched what they say is a new and sturdier magnet building toy, called Magnext.  Chizick said: "Magnext is a totally new product. We have worked closely with Intertek, a third-party testing agency, that reviewed the design of the toys for safety before they were manufactured."  The Record repeatedly tried to contact Toys R Us to ask them about the Magnetix set we found for sale in their store, but they did not respond.

Under Scotland's health and safety guidelines, no single body have the authority and manpower to get dangerous child products out of our shops.  Campaigners have called for a tougher safety regime to protect our kids. Mike Hayes said: "We would really benefit from better co-ordination between the various agencies to ensure that consumer safety is given the highest priority.  "It does not appear that it is always given the attention it deserves."  In Britain, the organisation who represent major toy companies published guidelines in July last year saying that any toys containing strong magnets should carry warning labels.  But previous investigations have found products on shop shelves which had not been labelled correctly.

Cleared from the shelves  BANNED  Chinese-made Barbie and Tanner play sets were recalled by Mattel; BANNED  Polly Pocket and Batman figures were part of a huge recall; BANNED  Doggy Daycare, above, was outlawed in the UK but is still available on the internet. Batman figures, right, were part of a recall of nine million toys"

"Recalled toys relaunched with new names, umm, really?

The headline was meant to shock, and for this mama, it worked. "Tainted Toys Get Another Turn," said the Wall Street Journal's home page. I clicked, to read the story of how recalled toys with awful histories (remember the Aqua Dots whose bead-swallowing victims slipped into comas? [the date-rape drug]) are brought back with new names and new marketing spins.

What? Why? Aqua Dots are back as "Pixos," little beads that can be arranged in designs and then "magically join with water!" The Journal article says soberly, "Hit toys are rare in the industry and companies -- operating under tight margins -- are under pressure to keep a trendy product alive. But the stigma of a large recall can potentially sink both a toy and its manufacturer." So they bring it back.

Another return to the toy shelves is MagNext, essentially Magnetix redesigned so the little building magnets can't be swallowed -- and it's been "rebranded" with an association with another of the company's brands, Mega Bloks.

Sure, they're corporations, and they're out to make a buck. But something in me says that, once proven to injure kids, the toys should just be abandoned, not redesigned and rebranded."

(Commentary by urbanmamas at http://www.activistas.us/activistas/consumerism on November 01, 2008)

Magnetic toys are 4th on United States CPSC's annual list of the 5 most hazardous toys for this holiday season

With the 2008 holiday shopping season in full swing, many parents and caregivers are searching online or in stores for cool toys that their children will enjoy.  They are trying to balance the new emphasis on back-to-basics, unstructured, creative toys that are made-in-the-US against the recent trend of cheap knock-off toys with lots of bells and whistles and automated features, often made in China and possibly coated with lead paint or phthalates.  Many consumers are tempted by MEGA Brands' line of inexpensive "wow factor" toys that feature snap-together magnets and flashing lights.  So, are the new Magnext toys from MEGA Brands safe for our children?  Well, hold on there pardner...didn't you know that MEGA Brands was forced to recall their previous versions of magnetic toys (Magnetix, Magnetix Jr., Magtastik, and Magnaman etc.) not once, twice, but three times (2006, 2007 and 2008)?  These toys were implicated in dozens of intestinal surgeries in kids of various ages and one death of a toddler.  Have all of the models been completely redesigned so that magnets cannot fall out with normal play and so the magnetic pieces are not of a swallowable size?  And what about those button-cell batteries that are used to power flashing lights, which experts warn kids are apt to put in their mouths and eat?  How trustworthy do you think this multinational Canadian-based corporation is?  (In previous years, they fought against the recall of their toys including boxes on retailers' shelves, in order to "burn off inventory", claiming the models were magically "new and improved" overnight.

Continue reading to find out about the latest toy safety advice from experts, and links to the CPSC's list of most hazardous toys for 2008.

Bad Toys:  What went wrong with recalled toys. Flaming helicopters, anyone?

By Ian Hodder for MSN Health & Fitness