The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously today to issue a final rule making changes to the child-resistant packaging test protocols under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970. These changes revise the testing method, which will make closures adult-friendly and easy- to-open while maintaining their child-resistance. Adults of all ages are more likely to buy and use packaging that is both easier for them to open and child-resistant. This will reduce the risk of a child-poisoning from medicines stored in or transferred to non child-resistant packaging or from packaging where the tops are left off the medicines.
The new rule changes the make-up of test panels substituting senior adults, ages 50-70, for younger adults. The decision covers packaging for the vast majority of products regulated by the act, including pharmaceuticals and most household chemicals and cleaners. The decision exempts those products that must be packaged in metal or aerosol containers.
CPSC Chairman Ann Brown said, "With this historic vote, CPSC is giving the American people packaging that is easier for adults to open while saving their children's lives. It exemplifies how CPSC can work together with industry to issue a common sense regulation that minimizes the burden on the regulated industry while accomplishing CPSC's mission of keeping children safer in their homes."
Since passage of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, CPSC estimates that over 700 children's lives have been saved from accidental poisoning by prescription drugs and aspirin. The new, adult-friendly packaging should help to further reduce an annual one million calls about ingestions to poison prevention centers, 130,000 hospital emergency-room-treated poisonings, and 50 poisoning deaths to young children. CPSC also urges caregivers to continue to keep all potentially poisonous products out of the reach of small children.
CPSC commissioners said they would revisit the exemption for metal and aerosol containers and encouraged manufacturers of these containers to voluntarily develop senior-friendly, child-resistant packaging.
CPSC initially voted to revise the rule in early January. However, the commission agreed to delay publication of the final rule for an additional comment period and public hearing. Changes in the final rule from the January decision reflect the concerns addressed during the additional comment period.
STATEMENT OF ANN BROWN CHAIRMAN, CPSC
June 15, 1995
Today is a great day for America's children. The Commission's vote will result in saved lives and increased safety. It is a great step forward in preventing poisonings.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission voted to revise the test procedure used under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act to make packaging easier for adults to open while maintaining it child resistance. I could not be more pleased with today's vote, which will result in saved lives and increased safety for our children.
Hard-to-open packages are a particular problem for older adults, and we all know how frustrating it can be to try to open packages that are hard to use. Because packaging that meets the new test procedures will be easy-to-open and child-resistant, it will be much less likely that adults of all ages, particularly older adults, will leave the tops off of their medicines and other hazardous substances, transfer the contents of child-resistant packaging to nonchild-resistant packages, or purchase products without child-resistant closures. Under the final rule, a test panel of adults aged 50-70 will be used instead of younger adults. This will give a more realistic picture of the ability of normal adults to use child-resistant packaging properly than the current panel of 18 to 45 year olds.
And most importantly, the new, adult-friendly packaging should help reduce the yearly one million calls about ingestions to poison control centers, 130,000 hospital emergency-room- treated poisonings in 1994, and 50 poisoning deaths to young children.
The Commission initially voted to revise the test procedure in early January. However, CPSC agreed to delay publication of the final rule for an additional comment period and public hearing to address additional industry comments. Changes in the final rule from the January decision reflect concerns addressed during the additional comment period.
This new rule exemplifies how the Consumer Product Safety Commission and industry can work together cooperatively to issue a common sense regulation that minimizes the burden on the regulated industry while accomplishing CPSC's mission of keeping children safer in their homes by reducing the number of child-poisonings.
The safety triangle, however, is not complete unless consumers play their crucial role. Consumers must keep all medicines and other potentially poisonous products out of the reach of children and must resecure child-resistant closures after each use. Only when industry, government and consumers each carry out their responsibilities can we effectively reduce the number of ingestions and poisonings that occur each year in the United States. I can't think of anything more tragic for a family than the death of a child because she or he ingested a grandparent's or other caregiver's medicine. The changes to the testing procedure voted for today can go a long way toward eliminating this avoidable tragedy.
The change in the test panels substituting senior adults, ages 50-70, for younger adults is the first such change since the original test procedures became effective in January, 1972. In that time, there have been significant technological changes in the world, ranging from walking on the moon to a revolution in the use of computers. It was time for American ingenuity to produce a package that is difficult for young children to open and yet could be used properly and without difficulty by normal adults. The new procedures are technically feasible, practicable, and appropriate, and will protect our children. Already, in anticipation of the revised regulation, firms like Sunbeam and Proctor and Gamble have made child-resistant, adult-friendly closures available in the marketplace. Soon, consumers will have many more adult friendly, child-resistant closures available to them.
STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MARY SHEILA GALL ON THE FINAL RULE TO REQUIRE CHANGES TO CHILD-RESISTANT PACKAGING TEST PROTOCOLS
June 15, 1995
Today, I voted to finalize a rule under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA) to improve the child and adult test protocol used in evaluating child-resistant packaging.
A significant factor contributing to ingestions by children is the difficulty consumers have in opening current child-resistant packaging. By requiring the use of adult friendly (easy-to-open) packaging that maintains its child-resistance, more consumers will use this packaging appropriately. I am confident this will further reduce accidental ingestions by children and as a result reduce their risk of serious personal injury or illness. This is the primary goal of the PPPA.
The Commission, industry, and other interested parties worked diligently to come to a decision that would first and foremost increase safety for children, but also recognize the practical considerations of bringing important packaging changes to the marketplace. Today's decision meets both goals and is a common sense approach to government regulation.
STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER THOMAS HILL MOORE ON FINAL RULE TO REVISE THE CHILD-RESISTANT PACKAGING TEST PROTOCOLS
June 15, 1995
I voted today to approve certain modifications to the child-resistant packaging test protocols which will be incorporated into a Final Rule of the Commission.
My colleagues have lived with this issue for much longer than I have, but we all have lived for too long with what I would call "adult-resistant" packaging.
The CPSC mandate under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 is to protect young children from accidental ingestion of substances that can harm them. With industry's substantial cooperation, we've come a long way since 1970 in reducing accidental ingestion incidents. Yet, evasions by adults of today's "adult-resistant" packaging and continued ingestion accidents are still a problem of considerable concern. To ensure that the mandate of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act is more fully met, we are making changes to the way we test packages.
The Commission has taken great pains to listen to, and to carefully consider, the views of all interested parties in this rulemaking proceeding. The changes we are finalizing today will strengthen our ability to further protect young children by reducing the present resistance many adults, particularly older adults, have toward using packages that are designed to be difficult for young children to open. Making packaging more senior-friendly will result in more child-resistant packaging being utilized without evasions.
I commend my colleagues for their long, hard work on this important issue.
The new rule changes the make-up of test panels substituting senior adults, ages 50-70, for younger adults. The decision covers packaging for the vast majority of products regulated by the act, including pharmaceuticals and most household chemicals and cleaners. The decision exempts those products that must be packaged in metal or aerosol containers.
CPSC Chairman Ann Brown said, "With this historic vote, CPSC is giving the American people packaging that is easier for adults to open while saving their children's lives. It exemplifies how CPSC can work together with industry to issue a common sense regulation that minimizes the burden on the regulated industry while accomplishing CPSC's mission of keeping children safer in their homes."
Since passage of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, CPSC estimates that over 700 children's lives have been saved from accidental poisoning by prescription drugs and aspirin. The new, adult-friendly packaging should help to further reduce an annual one million calls about ingestions to poison prevention centers, 130,000 hospital emergency-room-treated poisonings, and 50 poisoning deaths to young children. CPSC also urges caregivers to continue to keep all potentially poisonous products out of the reach of small children.
CPSC commissioners said they would revisit the exemption for metal and aerosol containers and encouraged manufacturers of these containers to voluntarily develop senior-friendly, child-resistant packaging.
CPSC initially voted to revise the rule in early January. However, the commission agreed to delay publication of the final rule for an additional comment period and public hearing. Changes in the final rule from the January decision reflect the concerns addressed during the additional comment period.
STATEMENT OF ANN BROWN CHAIRMAN, CPSC
June 15, 1995
Today is a great day for America's children. The Commission's vote will result in saved lives and increased safety. It is a great step forward in preventing poisonings.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission voted to revise the test procedure used under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act to make packaging easier for adults to open while maintaining it child resistance. I could not be more pleased with today's vote, which will result in saved lives and increased safety for our children.
Hard-to-open packages are a particular problem for older adults, and we all know how frustrating it can be to try to open packages that are hard to use. Because packaging that meets the new test procedures will be easy-to-open and child-resistant, it will be much less likely that adults of all ages, particularly older adults, will leave the tops off of their medicines and other hazardous substances, transfer the contents of child-resistant packaging to nonchild-resistant packages, or purchase products without child-resistant closures. Under the final rule, a test panel of adults aged 50-70 will be used instead of younger adults. This will give a more realistic picture of the ability of normal adults to use child-resistant packaging properly than the current panel of 18 to 45 year olds.
And most importantly, the new, adult-friendly packaging should help reduce the yearly one million calls about ingestions to poison control centers, 130,000 hospital emergency-room- treated poisonings in 1994, and 50 poisoning deaths to young children.
The Commission initially voted to revise the test procedure in early January. However, CPSC agreed to delay publication of the final rule for an additional comment period and public hearing to address additional industry comments. Changes in the final rule from the January decision reflect concerns addressed during the additional comment period.
This new rule exemplifies how the Consumer Product Safety Commission and industry can work together cooperatively to issue a common sense regulation that minimizes the burden on the regulated industry while accomplishing CPSC's mission of keeping children safer in their homes by reducing the number of child-poisonings.
The safety triangle, however, is not complete unless consumers play their crucial role. Consumers must keep all medicines and other potentially poisonous products out of the reach of children and must resecure child-resistant closures after each use. Only when industry, government and consumers each carry out their responsibilities can we effectively reduce the number of ingestions and poisonings that occur each year in the United States. I can't think of anything more tragic for a family than the death of a child because she or he ingested a grandparent's or other caregiver's medicine. The changes to the testing procedure voted for today can go a long way toward eliminating this avoidable tragedy.
The change in the test panels substituting senior adults, ages 50-70, for younger adults is the first such change since the original test procedures became effective in January, 1972. In that time, there have been significant technological changes in the world, ranging from walking on the moon to a revolution in the use of computers. It was time for American ingenuity to produce a package that is difficult for young children to open and yet could be used properly and without difficulty by normal adults. The new procedures are technically feasible, practicable, and appropriate, and will protect our children. Already, in anticipation of the revised regulation, firms like Sunbeam and Proctor and Gamble have made child-resistant, adult-friendly closures available in the marketplace. Soon, consumers will have many more adult friendly, child-resistant closures available to them.
STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MARY SHEILA GALL ON THE FINAL RULE TO REQUIRE CHANGES TO CHILD-RESISTANT PACKAGING TEST PROTOCOLS
June 15, 1995
Today, I voted to finalize a rule under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA) to improve the child and adult test protocol used in evaluating child-resistant packaging.
A significant factor contributing to ingestions by children is the difficulty consumers have in opening current child-resistant packaging. By requiring the use of adult friendly (easy-to-open) packaging that maintains its child-resistance, more consumers will use this packaging appropriately. I am confident this will further reduce accidental ingestions by children and as a result reduce their risk of serious personal injury or illness. This is the primary goal of the PPPA.
The Commission, industry, and other interested parties worked diligently to come to a decision that would first and foremost increase safety for children, but also recognize the practical considerations of bringing important packaging changes to the marketplace. Today's decision meets both goals and is a common sense approach to government regulation.
STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER THOMAS HILL MOORE ON FINAL RULE TO REVISE THE CHILD-RESISTANT PACKAGING TEST PROTOCOLS
June 15, 1995
I voted today to approve certain modifications to the child-resistant packaging test protocols which will be incorporated into a Final Rule of the Commission.
My colleagues have lived with this issue for much longer than I have, but we all have lived for too long with what I would call "adult-resistant" packaging.
The CPSC mandate under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 is to protect young children from accidental ingestion of substances that can harm them. With industry's substantial cooperation, we've come a long way since 1970 in reducing accidental ingestion incidents. Yet, evasions by adults of today's "adult-resistant" packaging and continued ingestion accidents are still a problem of considerable concern. To ensure that the mandate of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act is more fully met, we are making changes to the way we test packages.
The Commission has taken great pains to listen to, and to carefully consider, the views of all interested parties in this rulemaking proceeding. The changes we are finalizing today will strengthen our ability to further protect young children by reducing the present resistance many adults, particularly older adults, have toward using packages that are designed to be difficult for young children to open. Making packaging more senior-friendly will result in more child-resistant packaging being utilized without evasions.
I commend my colleagues for their long, hard work on this important issue.
About the U.S. CPSC
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. Since the CPSC was established more than 50 years ago, it has worked to ensure the safety of consumer products, which has contributed to a decline in injuries associated with these products.
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