Magnets Can Kill: News and politics

Trouble in Mega Brands Land and other news

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:24:07 GMT

Sticky Stones: loose magnets sold to 3-year olds! A serious mislabeling concern if nothing else

Once again, a magnetic toy was named as one of annual "Ten Worst Toys" on a list published by the product safety non-profit advocacy group World Against Toys Causing Harm. Shockingly, the toy is labeled as safe by the manufacturer for children age 3 and up. The packaging of this toy states only that the tiny magnetic stones are a choking hazard due to their small size. The manufacturer, GeoCentral, does not tell consumers on the package that ingestion or inhalation of magnets can cause injury or death. Many other toy manufacturers have voluntarily added labels to their magnetic toys to disclose this safety concern, and also labeled them as appropriate only for children age 6 and up.

World Against Toys Causing Harm [W.A.T.C.H.] has released the list around the holidays for 35 years, but this year it came amid a rash of recent recalls, particularly of toys made in China.
Among the toys identified as hazardous were Sticky Stones - magnetized stones that, if swallowed, could stick together inside a child's stomach...
WATCH officials said the list showed that the undermanned U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulates the toy industry, doesn't do enough to ensure that toy makers sell safe toys and the industry has failed to police itself. "Why are toys being made with known toxins?" said attorney Joan Siff of WATCH. "The best interests of children need to be put before the best interests of toy companies."
Julie Vallese, spokeswoman for the safety commission, called WATCH's claims insulting, citing a 50 percent rise in the number of recalled toys this year - from 40 in 2006, to 61 in 2007 - that resulted from a commitment to tougher inspections. "Toys that are for sale right now have gone through more investigation and more scrutiny than any year past," Vallese said.
Joan Lawrence of the Toy Industry Association questioned the usefulness of WATCH's list, saying such lists often lack context about who the toy is aimed at and how it should be used. "In general, the products are safe as intended to be used," she said.
The toy industry has been hit by a series of recalls, including earlier this year when America's Mattel Inc recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys worldwide because of concerns about lead paint and tiny detachable magnets.

Hmmm...Toy Industry Association: Do you really think the toy Sticky Stones with powerful loose magnets sold on Amazon.com and by other national retailers, is safe for the pre-schoolers they are intended to be used by? Personally, I wouldn't buy ANY toy with swallowable powerful magnets since young children might come across them in the home. According to the CPSC:

Loose magnets can cause severe injuries or death, if swallowed. If more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attract to each other inside the intestines and cause perforations and/or blockage, which can be fatal if not treated immediately.

Yes, believe it or not, tiny magnets can reconnect together from one part of the intestine to another, and cause a life-threatinging abdominal infection. Scan this frightening CDC study of 20 serious injuries and 1 death in children age 0-11 from swallowing magnets in toys. Maybe if you read it, you'll decide NOT to give your child any magnetic toys this Christmas. Just say NO to Magnetix, magnetic Polly Pocket, and Sticky Stones! Why not go back to good-ole made-in-the-USA wooden toys this holiday shopping season!

Mega Brands US$11M Q3 loss prompts shares to fall by one-third to new low

Published: Friday, November 9, 2007 | 4:20 PM ET, Canadian Press: Ross Marowits, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - Jittery investors dealt Mega Brands Inc. (TSX:MB) its most serious financial blow Friday sending shares to an all-time low after the company said it was closing a New Jersey factory and had lost US$11 million in the third quarter.
...One child died and four were seriously injured when they swallowed tiny magnets from the Magnetix building sets. The company was forced to recall more than seven million sets....

Lead Paint in MEGA Bloks?

So if you are a shareholder who invested in Mega Brands publicly traded stock, you may have just lost a lot of money. And the news just keeps getting worse for the Mega-toy company MEGA Brands. In addition to the serious dangers of magnets in Magnetix toys that have been recalled twice due to numerous injuries and one tragic death, Mega Brands has now been linked to the China lead paint scandal: an independent lab testing company in Canada hired by the consumer magazine Protégez-Vous found high levels of lead (according to the New York Times article) in two yellow blocks from a Maxi System plastic block toy set marketed for children age 0-3 by Mega Brands. We all know babies and toddlers like to put toys in their mouth! Ingestion of lead, or lead poisoning, has been linked to mental retardation, attention problems and learning disabilities.

Last month, a Quebec court rejected Mega Brands' request for an injuction against the consumer protection magazine from publishing the results of its lead paint test on Mega Bloks toys.

The CPSC attempts to turn down more funding

In this CBS video, Nancy Nord explains why she won't resign as Chairman of the CPSC despite calls for her to quit after she rejects a funding proposal bill from the US Senate and despite the public's perception that a gentleman known only as "Bob" is the only employee assigned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to test toys sold to our country's children. Here is a picture from CSPAN of the CPSC test facility.

CARS backpack

The most recent recall of magnetic toys came October 23rd when a children's backpack featuring the characters from the movie "Cars" was recalled because it contained a magnetic toy in which the magnets have been found to come loose. Target Stores and Global Design Concepts, the manufacturer, are voluntarily participating in the recall.

...meanwhile, yours truly the magnetscankill site is the featured space on November 12, 2007 on the Windows Live Spaces home page at http://home.services.spaces.live.com/community.

Hot Spaces

Magnets Can Kill
A Seattle woman known as Product Safety Mom spreads the word about the dangers of magnetic toys that can harm or kill children. This is a space to share with everyone who is around children: parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and childcare professionals.

Huge publicity bubbling in the Mega Brands and magnetic toy injury scandal

Thu, 03 May 2007 01:31:43 GMT

The Chicago Tribune will begin publishing this month an important investigative reporting series on toy safety including a two-part Special Report on the sudden emergence in the last two years of magnetic toys as a new danger area for children.

Watch this intriguing video, from the Tribune's website, which tells of the controversial history to be revealed to readers in the next week and features an exclusive interview with one small victim, Kiegan Willis and his mother Renea Willis from Plymouth, Indiana (video narrated by News Anchor Andrea Darlas of WGN Radio).

Rose Art Industries of Livingston, NJ (now a division of Mega Brands, Inc. of Canada) and other manufacturers discovered inexpensive supplies of incredibly powerful magnets in China and quickly introduced dozens of new models of toys also manufactured at factories in China, attempting to capitalize on the success of the tried and true and relatively safe "Geomag" Swiss standard. Geomags are designed in such a way that the magnets inside the rods stay inside, and never fall out. Not necessarily so with Magnetix!

Magnets released unexpectedly from the components of many Mega Bloks models, such as Magnetix Xtreme Combo, Magnetix Extreme, Magnetix Curves, and Magnaman. Some parents didn't know that a few little magnets fell out and lodged in their carpet. Children have a tendency to find shiny little things and put them in their mouths. Twenty-seven children to date have had to have intestinal surgery after the magnets reconnected to each other from different parts of their digestive tract, twisting and piercing their bodily tissues, causing infection, sepsis and necrosis.

The problem is not restricted only to one company's toys. Another building set brand, MagneBlocks was recalled after Geometix International executives noticed a few magnets fall out. Mattel Inc. entered into a recall agreement with the CPCS for certain magnetic Polly Pocket doll sets after five girls and boys swallowed magnets that detached from the dolls or their accessories, suffering devastating injuries. Another magnetic toy, Link-N-Lite Magnetic Puzzles by Jazwares Inc., was also recalled due to loose magnets that consumers saw fall out. The CPSC received reports of children being injured after swallowing or inhaling magnetic jewelry they were trying to place on their tongues or nose.

From 2003, when Magnetix were introduced, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a government watchdog agency subjected to extreme downsizing in personnel, had a hard time policing the millions of the inexpensive magnetic construction toys that were being sold into the marketplace. It took many consumer complaints of magnets falling out, beginning as early as April 2004, several serious injuries beginning in May, 2005 and toddler Kenneth Sweet's death in November 2005 before the CPSC took any action. In March 2006, they issued a weak, confusing and ineffective recall of 3.8 million Magnetix building toys which yielded less than 15,000 returned sets. A year later, after a dozens more injuries, a special task force, mega million dollar lawsuit settlements and shocking TV reports, the CPSC last month issued a stronger recall for an additional 4 million Magnetix toys. Is the public aware of the problem now? Do you believe you should return or throw away the Magnetix toys in your home?

Mega Brands has claimed that they fixed the problem beginning with Magnetix toys manufactured AFTER MAY 1, 2006. However, they have admitted that the unsafe versions of the toys could have been sold to you any time through April, 2007. Why? Because Mega Brands reached a special arrangement with the CPSC during the first recall where Mega Brands was permitted to leave old products on store shelves and in online sellers' inventory. They say the only way that you can tell if you have a NEW AND IMPROVED model is if it sported the new packaging including a small warning label usually on the TOP PANEL of the box which warns people not to swallow magnets. Do we believe what the company says now? In at least one case, a consumer bought a MEGA Brands magnetic toy that DID have the new label on the box (so supposedly was more safely designed) but saw a magnet pop right out of a piece of the toy. Remember, ONE MAGNET plus ONE PIECE OF METAL (e.g. steel ball) or ONE MAGNET plus ONE OTHER MAGNET can cause a serious internal injury.

Larry Light, a former McDonald's marketing executive, quietly quit the Board of Directors of Mega Brands, Inc. only a year after joining the board. It was a year filled with lawsuits, recalls and bold-faced bravado by the publicly traded Canadian company, which, after many children were injured by their toys, insisted it was mainly the parents' fault and brazenly introduced dozens of new magnetic designs before assuring their current models were above reproach in terms of safety.

The Tribune's neighbor the Chicago Sun Times revealed April 30th that yet another family has filed suit against Mega Brands, a Canadian-based company, for a Magnetix injury. Deron Hyman, a 7 year old from Gurnee, Illinois was within 24 hours of death when had to undergo life-saving intestinal surgery. Sometime in the six months after receiving the Christmas gift in 2005 at his grandfather's home, the boy swallowed magnets that came out unexpectedly from the Magnetix building blocks set. The tiny gray magnets reconnected in his abdomen, causing a severe abdominal injury. It was disclosed this week that Clifford Law Offices filed a lawsuit in Cook County Court in 2006 on behalf of Deron's mother, Sharon Henry.

The CPSC has issued another product recall for dangerous magnetic toys - this time for IQ Pre-School Take-Apart Townhouse Toys manufactured by Small World Toys of Culver, California. This voluntary recall, released May 3, relates to small magnets included in a toy marketed to children age 18 months and older. The CPSC has received reports of magnets falling off, which could be dangerous if the magnets were swallowed or aspirated.

Here is the full text of the recall:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 3, 2007
Release #07-179

Firm’s Recall Hotline: (800) 421-4153
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Small World Toys Recalls Children’s Take-Apart Townhouse Toys; Detached Magnets Pose Aspiration and Intestinal Hazards

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of product: IQ Preschool™ Take-Apart Townhouse

Units: About 8,800

Distributor: Small World Toys, of Culver City, Calif.

Hazard: Small magnets used to connect the wooden pieces to the sides of the townhouse can fall out. Magnets found by young children can be swallowed or aspirated. If more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestinal perforations or blockages, which can be fatal.

Incidents/Injuries: CPSC and Small World Toys have received two reports of magnets coming off of the townhouse pieces. No injuries have been reported.

Description: These wooden toys, for children ages “18+ months,” are shaped like houses measuring 8.5 inches high by about 4.5 inches wide. They have nine pieces that children can disassemble and reassemble. Each house has a green chimney and a blue and yellow striped pillar with a purple base at each corner. The sides of the house have four removable panels of different shapes with red knobs that children use to pull the panels off. “IQ Preschool™” appears on the side of the house below the blue and green rectangular panel. Model number 2408808 appears on the packaging.

Sold at: Toy stores and various other retailers nationwide and through catalogs from December 2004 through February 2007 for about $21.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Take these toys away from children immediately and contact the firm to obtain a free replacement product.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Small World Toys at (800) 421-4153 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, visit their Web site at www.smallworldtoys.com or e-mail the firm at townhouserecall@smallworldtoys.com.

The latest news about risks from magnetic toys

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 17:02:19 GMT

1. Yes you heard it here first on MagnetsCanKill brought to you by ProductSafetyMom...rumor has it that several more consumer lawsuits are in the works for Mega Brands. The $13.5 million mediated settlement they made with 14 families in October, 2006 (for which they paid their lawyers $2 million in fees) did not put the issue of magnetic safety behind Mega Brands, Inc. as the company implied to investors of their publicly traded stock (MEGA BRANDS SETTLES VIRTUALLY ALL PRODUCT LIABILITY LAWSUITS AND CLAIMS). Incidentally, Mega Brands has spent $4.8 million on litigation with the Rosen family, including an attempt to recover Magnetix-related costs from the $15 million escrow fund set aside during the acquisition of Rose Art Industries by Mega Bloks. And there's more - Mega Brands has refused to pay $51 million in "incentive payments" to Sidney, Lawrence and Jeffrey Rosen after they acquired RoseArt for $318 million in July 2005 - citing potential fallout from the Magnetix debacle.

The families of 3-year old Tegan Leisy and other injured children have recently made new claims against this manufacturer and Wal-Mart Stores. Magnets unexpectedly popped out of the toys and were swallowed by young children with intestine-twisting horrifying results. Some of the toys in the new set of claims are known to have been purchased by parents or gift-givers AFTER the March 31, 2006 recall of the Magnetix line. Yet, if you remember, Mega Brands promised the CPSC that the toys on store shelves or in internet retailers' warehouses after that date did not need to be removed. The product safety agency's official notice had the effect of assuring the public that as of April 1 the inventory of Magnetix toys were free of the defect that caused the tiny magnets to become dislodged.

Child’s Death Prompts Replacement Program of Magnetic Building Sets

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2006
Release #06-127

"Name of Product: All Magnetix Magnetic Building Sets
Units: About 3.8 million
...Sold at: Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, Fred Meyer, Design Science Toys Ltd., A.C. Moore, and other toy and arts and crafts stores nationwide. The Magnetix magnetic building sets were sold from September 2003 through March 2006 for between $20 and $60, depending on the size of the set. The replacement program does not include sets at retail..."

In Mega Brands' just-released required regulatory filings and audited financial statements the company discloses to its stockholders just how many millions it has paid to recall and replace the toys, to pay the initial spate of claims from the injuries and death due to their magnetic toys, and many new Magnetix-related financial risks. Facing 3 new lawsuits and 7 or more possibly to be filed, it has proved impossible for Mega Brands to secure product liability insurance on Magnetix at the rates that would be typical for companies with well-designed products and good safety records. The wording of the disclosure leads one to believe that the Magnetix toys manufactured AFTER the March 2006 recall and through May 1, 2006 were at significant risk for product faults, despite assurances the company's executives made to the U.S. CPSC.

Market Watch from Dow Jones: Mega Brands reports fourth quarter and 2006 financial results (Montreal, April 2, 2007)

"...On September 14, 2006 and on December 5, 2006, two lawsuits related to magnet ingestion requiring surgical removal were served on the Corporation and remain outstanding. They are being handled by the Corporation's insurers. On March 29, 2007 the Corporation learned that a third lawsuit had been filed in U.S. District Court in Denver by the family of a child who is alleged to have sustained similar injuries. The lawsuit has been reported to our insurers. The Corporation is also aware of at least seven other incidents in which children are alleged to have required surgery following the ingestion of multiple magnets. Lawsuits have not been filed in these matters as of April 1, 2007. The Corporation is not able to assess with any certainty the outcome of these lawsuits and claims or impact, if any. As such, no amounts have been reserved in our year-end financial statements.

The Corporation's portfolio of product liability insurance was renewed on December 1, 2006. As a result of the voluntary recall and replacement program and the ensuing publicity and product liability lawsuits and claims against the Corporation, the cost of insurance coverage for MAGNETIX products manufactured before May 1, 2006 was prohibitive. After careful consideration of the risks and an analysis of the costs of insurance, the Corporation determined that it was more economically advantageous, all factors considered, to self-insure these risks. As such, the Corporation is self-insured for incidents occurring after December 1, 2006, for MAGNETIX products manufactured prior to May 1, 2006."

MEGA Brands Inc. (CA:MB: news, chart, profile)

Hmmm, does the CPSC have cause to fine Mega Brands for providing misleading information about WHEN its Magnetix toys were manufactured in a safer manner and WHEN the toys in the distribution channel would be safe? If so, will the CPSC fine Mega Brands?

2. Did you know? Members of ASTM International, a materials watchdog group, voted in February to require a new warning label for toys marketed to children age 3-8, which contain certain types of powerful magnets. No, you didn't know, because the news and the details have not been made public yet! ASTM won't issue a news release until May or June 2007, and once the standard becomes effective it will be voluntary for manufacturers selling toys in the U.S. If you buy a magnetic toy this Fall and it says on the box...This toy complies with all voluntary toy industry safety standards...that means the manufacturer is promising to comply with the new official safety standard. In related news:

ASTM International works with federal agencies - the CPSC and the CDC to improve prevention and diagnosis of internal injuries from swallowed magnets

Scan a disturbing report on the lack of consistent labeling for toys sold online, reported by MarketWatch from DowJones and U.S. PIRG here.

3. On April 3, 2007 President Bush nominated an industry lobbyist for a position of sacred trust for the American public, Chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Can you say...conflict of interest?

The spit-in-your-face nomination of Michael Baroody is blogged here and here and here and here (with photo and video) and here and here. This political consultant and partisan player has a long history of supporting the dismantling of various consumer protection provisions.

Kids in Danger, a non-profit children's advocacy group, asks for your help! To comment on the nomination of Michael Baroody, please click the link below to send an e-mail to the White House.

Industry lobbyist named to head CPSC

Kids In Danger 2007 March email alert
President Bush recently announced his intention to nominate Michael Baroody to be a chairman on the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

This top lobbyist for business interests and vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers is a highly controversial choice for the agency charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products.

The position has been vacant for eight months, allowing the six-month interim period in which the panel can operate without a third member to lapse, and essentially stripping the CPSC of its authority to conduct even routine business.

Tell President Bush that you want a strong voice for children's safety at CPSC.

4. Mega Brands Inc. is not complaining about sales of their magnetic toys lagging since Magnetix toys were recalled in March, 2006. Maybe that's because their clever marketing team morphed their toy lineup to >> brand new magnetic designs that sound different, but still contain the same tiny cylindrical neodymium magnets that came loose from some Magnetix toys and injured dozens of children who inhaled or ingested them. Children now see an onslaught of commercials for Mag Wheels, Magnabug, MagnaMan, Mag Warrior, Magtastik, etc. all marketed by the maker of Magnetix, produced in China, and containing the very same potentially deadly small NIB magnets. Are your kids asking for these new toys by Mega Brands for their birthday wish list? The newest marketing tag line from Mega Bloks is: Creativity to the Rescue! This campaign was criticized by John Bell of the Ogilvy advertising agency in his blog:

"We believe creative toys can make the world a better place. If you agree, visit megabloks.com". I believe so I click. And then I watch a very well produced animated movie about the personified creativity - the guy with the nuclar torso. And then nothing. I want to get involved in something bigger - some leadership play around "creativity". Instead, I watch a movie and am then left to shop for mega bloks. Big dissapointment.

The Globe and Mail (GlobeInvestor.com) reported on April 9th that despite a 9% sell-off in the share price of Mega Brands linked to its magnetic toy troubles, stock analysts remain bullish on the company's overall growth prospects. The legal fees, product replacement costs, inventory write-offs, and settlements from ingested magnets caused a severe profit slump year-over-year, but as permitted by accounting standards, MEGA Brands management accounted for these costs as "one time charges" in 2006, a category which investors tend to overlook.

Are you confident that Mega Brands' new magnetic toy designs will be safe for your little ones to play with?

5. By the same token, toy giant Mattel Inc. has publicly admitted little damage to their sales figures for Polly Pocket toys. Certain magnetic Polly Pocket doll sets were recalled in November, 2006 after several children swallowed magnets that came from the toys and required intestinal surgery. Presto change-oh! Now we've got Polly Pocket cars and dolls that have a different design (harder plastic for the dolls, clothes, and other magnetized accessories), with some tiny exposed silver magnets cleverly painted over by white paint. Some examples are the Polly Pocket Quik-Clik Car Cool Makeover, Polly Pocket: Lila Quik-Clik Car Cool Cruisers, and Polly Pocket Totally Trendy Pets Wild Ride Safari Car-Polly and Rick. One major problem here: talk about lack of transparency! The name of these Mattel products don't even have "Mag" or "Magnetic" in it so parents or gift-buyers might not even realize the toy contains small powerful magnets. How can you protect your girls and boys if you have decided not to buy Polly Pocket toys containing magnets? The best advice at the moment is to watch for "Quik-Clik" in the name and to examine the product description carefully to see if it has magnetic features.

6. The toy giants who sell millions of inexpensive toys may not be complaining, but an independent magnetic toy inventor has suffered huge business losses from the downdraft of the magnetic safety debacle, and has struck back with...a lawsuit!

The March 28, 2007 press release from PlastWood Corporation, the maker of SuperMag magnetic construction toys features comments from Edoardo Tusacciu, president and founder of PlastWood.

"An Italian toy manufacturer today filed a lawsuit against toy giant MEGA Brands Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Rose Art Industries Inc., alleging MEGA Brands ruined the magnetic toy market after one child died and dozens of others were seriously injured as a result of what the suit claims was an unsafe toy design and deceptive advertising.

PlastWood, the manufacturer of the SuperMag magnetic toys, watched its sales plummet after Rose Art's toy Magnetix was blamed for a child's death and for serious injuries to dozens of other children who swallowed the small magnets which came loose from its toys.

In May 2005, Rose Art Industries learned of the problems with its toy, and was put on notice of a personal injury claim by the family of a 10-year-old child who claimed to have swallowed Magnetix magnets and suffered injury, the complaint states.

"We believe Rose Art knew of the problem in May of 2005, but continued to market the toy to children until March 2006, when the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning after the Sweet boy died," said Nick Styant-Browne, the attorney with Seattle-based Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro representing Plastwood."

Wait a minute...does the US CPSC have cause to fine Mega Brands Inc. for failing to report to the agency in May, 2005 the injury of a 10-year old child? If so, will the CPSC in fact take action to fine Mega Brands?

Read Mega Brands press release responding to the Plastwood suit here

The Supermag vs. Magnetix lawsuit: blogged at Play Library here

Dozens of children have swallowed small metal balls from Magnetix; read the posts from terrified Play Library moms here

More Play Library readers blogging about warning labels for magnetic toys here

Play Library bloggers discuss the news about the Polly Pocket sets recall

Writer Hsien-Hsien Lei discusses the regulation efforts of ASTM International

Play Library first reports the consumer advocacy of Yours Truly...the Magnets Can Kill space

7. On April 11, 2007 a mom posts her harrowing story on this space, Magnets Can Kill. She told us about her 12-year old son, who spent a week in the hospital recovering from surgery after swallowing magnets and metal objets that were shed by Magnetix sets that she bought him for Christmas in 2006. Even doctors thought he had the flu at first. The magnets bore 3 holes in his bowels.

This is not the first time a boy over age 10 swallowed Magnetix magnets with life-threatening consequences. Yes, you would think a child of that age would know better. But remember, they are still children and their judgement and sense of outcomes is not the same as adults. We don't yet know why her 12-year old swallowed these pieces. We do know it probably didn't occur to him that magnets are quite dangerous, since it is widely known that most other metallic objects (if they don't choke you) eventually pass through the body (coins, etc.). Perhaps these Magnetix did not have the warning on the box telling you that if you eat magnets, they can kill you. To the mother of the 12-year old boy who almost died from magnets that came from the Magnetix toy: PLEASE file an incident report with the CPSC.

In the other documented cases, a teacher kept a bin of Magnetix in the back of a classroom, and one student "dared" another boy to swallow as many of the loose magnets as he could. Elsewhere in the country, another 11 year-old boy ingested the magnets in is room as an experiment, to see if his excrement would turn magnetic. Sadly, in all three of the cases, even as they grew sicker and the magnets pulled their intestines and leaked infected fluid into their abdomens, the pre-teens delayed telling their parents out of embarrassment.

Magnetix toys are age rated as safe for age 6 and up. That doesn't mean YOUR 6-year old should play with them, until we can feel sure that Mega Brands takes this issue seriousy and has truly redesigned these toys so that magnets SIMPLY CANNOT COME OUT.

Product safety advocates agree...recommending a toy for age 6 and older does not give a company an excuse to sell a defective product. Clearly it is not intended as part of the play pattern of Magnetix building sets that the magnets in one piece literally pull out the magnets in other pieces, rendering them useless to build things and leaving small magnets where children can find them and put them in their mouths.