Environmental group EcoWaste Coalition on Thursday warned the public of the potential hazards of fidget spinners, which have become popular among children.
The group said fidget spinners can now be bought for as low as P20 but parents should be careful because of choking and fire incidents reported in the US.
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It pointed out that Latvia and Luxembourg have already banned the marketing of hand spinners because of non-compliance to the European Union’s Toy Safety Directive.
“The big drop in prices will attract more consumers to buy fidget or hand spinners for their young ones to play with. Unfortunately, most of these toys lack the required market authorization from the country’s toy regulator,” Thony Dizon, Coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect, said in a statement.
EcoWast cited Republic Act 9711 or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Act of 2009, which prohibits the sale of toy and childcare article (TCCA) products without the proper authorization in the form of TCCA Notifications.
“We searched the FDA website and found that only one company has market authorization for hand spinners for children above three years old,” Dizon said. “This means that hand spinners being sold by sidewalk vendors and other informal retailers, including those being offered online, have not gone through the FDA’s verification process so their quality and safety cannot be assured.”
Dizon said parents should instead choose “age-appropriate toys” that do not pose choking, chemical and other safety hazards.
Latvia and Luxembourg banned the said items because “battery compartments can easily be opened without the use of any tools and the button cells inside are easily accessible.”
EcoWaste said authorities are worried that children might swallow the batteries, which result in injuries such as damage to their gastrointestinal tract.
READ: Russia probes fidget spinners over health fears