Hand Sanitizer
Schools recommend students to carry sanitizer with them to promote healthy hand hygiene. Have you ever thought how dangerous sanitizer attached to a backpack could be? Some sanitizers are loaded with alcohol, so one spark or flame could ignite the sanitizer and the child’s backpack. Be sure to look at the label to find out if the sanitizer contains alcohol.
Some kids and teens are finding themselves in the hospital after drinking hand sanitizer. At the poison control center, they have been dealing with kids getting drunk and sick off hand sanitizers for awhile. Since January, they have had more than 150 such calls. Tama Sawyer, Doctor of Pharmacy says, “It’s basically gelled alcohol, and gelled alcohol can be used like regular alcohol.”
E-Cigarettes
Across the U.S., e-cigarette use among kids is on the rise. Adrienne Rollins, Department of Health, says much like tobacco products, a lot of the marketing for e-cigarettes targets young people. Adrienne says, “Things are pretty and flashy. We know with tobacco industry tactics in the past, they flavor things with what kids would like.”
Laura Hill, who works at a vape store, says along with childproof caps, they also label their products with a warning. Laura says, “We do tell people to treat this stuff just as you would treat a household cleaning product when it comes to children.”
Health officials say until the FDA regulates e-cigarettes, they fear the number of kids using them will continue to rise.
