Child health warning over bling dummies and novelty sunglasses

Philippa Hatley, Surrey County Council Trading Standards officer, with seized bling dummies, beakers and bottles, as well as novelty sunglasses. Download here.

Seizures of potentially lethal bling dummies that could cause choking and novelty sunglasses that could lead to long term eye damage, have sparked a child health warning.

Hundreds of bling dummies, bottles and beakers have been seized this summer in operations by Surrey County Council Trading Standards.

Small ‘gems’ that are glued to the brightly coloured children’s products can come loose, leading to choking if a youngster inhales them. And hygiene problems can occur if the ‘gems’ are glued over air holes making sterilisation tricky.

Hundreds of pairs of brightly coloured sunglasses have also been seized by Surrey County Council trading standards officers. They aren’t CE marked and may fail to protect the wearer’s eyes from the sun’s UV radiation, which has been linked to the formation of cataract and may be linked to age related macular degeneration. This is the leading cause of blindness in the UK.

Many of the items were seized during Surrey County Council Trading Standards operations at the Epsom Derby in June, which resulted in more than 2,000 fake and suspect products being seized.

Kay Hammond, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said: “The sad fact is these poor quality products are designed to be attractive to children which is why we’re urging parents to be aware.

“They may look fun and pretty but the dummies could kill and the sunglasses could cause lasting damage to a child’s precious eyesight. Please don’t take the risk.”

When buying sunglasses, check for the CE mark or the British Standards kitemark showing that they conform to BS EN 1836 of 1997.

For information on the importance of UV protection, visit http://www.lookafteryoureyes.org.

ENDS

Media requiring more information can contact Surrey County Council senior media relations officer James Oxley at james.oxley@surreycc.gov.uk.