Feds file suit against Buckyballs, retailers ban product

[Dave]

Here's another fine example of the government getting a little to silly. Bucky Balls are solely marketed to adults, there are several warning labels noting that they are not to be sold to children yet the Consumer Product Safety Commission feels the need to have them taken off the shelf because there have been 12 reports of children swallowing them. Here is why this is a silly thing for the CPSC to do this.... consider how many coins are swallowed each and every year. Given the fact that thousands of coins are swallowed each year (which are really marketed to everyone) and they are still readily available, asking stores to pull a product for just 12 instances is simply absurd. There are things to worry about, Bucky Balls are not one of them.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday sued the maker of the popular magnetic desk toy Buckyballs to stop the sale of the product because of the risks posed to children.

Some major retailers, including Amazon, Brookstone and Urban Outfitters, have agreed to stop selling these and similar products at CPSC's request. Children who swallow the tiny magnetic balls can require surgery when they become stuck in their intestines.

Dozens of children have needed surgery to remove the tiny magnets in Buckyballs as well as those sold by competitors of its maker, Maxfield & Oberton. At least 12 of the ingestions involved Buckyballs.

• MORE: Read the CPSC complaint

The tiny balls could be swallowed inadvertently by young children, but older children and teens have also swallowed them.

In March, Sabrina Lopez of Bakersfield, Calif., was simulating she had a tongue piercing at school when she swallowed four of the Buckyballs pieces a friend brought to school. Lopez, 12, was hospitalized for six days and required two surgeries to remove the balls from her bowels.

In its lawsuit, CPSC said Buckyballs and Buckycubes present a "substantial product hazard" and that warnings are not effective. The commission asked the company to stop selling the products, refund consumers' money and post a notice on online sellers' sites stating the product is defective. CPSC also charged the packaging is defective because it isn't childproof, and parents can't tell if a magnet is missing.

Maxfield & Oberton has 20 days to file a legal response. The case will be heard by a federal administrative law judge.

Responding to a request for comment, the company sent a press release headlined, "CPSC: Thank you for trying to drive a $50 million New York-based consumer product company out of business." Buckyballs and Buckycubes are Maxfield & Oberton's sole products; 2.5 million sets have been sold since 2009.

Betty Lopez, Sabrina's mother, says her daughter never saw the warning on the Buckyballs packaging and says it "wasn't sufficient enough for the parent who did buy them."

"Any child's life is worth more than $50 million," adds Lopez.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/story/2012-07-25/bu...

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

As was noted in a news broadcast... more accidental swallowing can be attributed to U.S currency but I think they have yet to ban it.