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US, Aussie Officials Yank GHB-Producing Toys
theodp writes "Questioned about concerns over China-made toys, Toys 'R' Us CEO Jerry Storch predicted 'this will be the safest holiday season ever.' Oops. On the same day Storch's interview ran in Fortune, Toys 'R' Us joined other North American and Australian retailers to pull millions of Chinese-made toy bead sets from shelves after scientists found they contain a chemical that when ingested metabolizes into GHB, the date-rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. Two children in the US and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing the beads."
From the Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_Dots/ "The toy was supposed to contain the non-toxic chemical 1,5-pentanediol, but instead contains 1,4-butanediol, which is metabolised into the drug gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB)." It looks like it's not a design mistake, but the manufacturer replacing one substance with a cheaper version
The beads look like candy, and aren't a choking hazard. I can easily see them getting bought for older kids, and a toddler scarfing down (or getting fed) a handful of them. It doesn't seem like something you'd buy for a toddler.
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This link from TFA http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/07/business/toys.php seems to indicate the GHB precursor was an unapproved last-minute substitution in the bead formula. It's not necessary, it's not beneficial, and it was probably done to cut costs.
I mean all the news stories refer to GHB as a date rape drug, which is just stupid journalistic sensationalism, GHB is far more commonly used as a 'rave drug', and there are more date rape accusations resulting from plain old alcohol induced leglessness. Not to mention that GHB is so salty and dangerous to mix with alcohol that you couldn't spike a drink with it. But the way the news continues to label it as a 'date rape' drug largely serves to perpetuate the idea and endanger people who end up taking too many hints from the news media. Even when people know what they're doing it's bad news waiting to happen, and giving it to other people is irresposible. Putting it into kids toys to save a bit of money in manufacturing is just pure evil.
After all, isn't it our own toy designers that came up with this "woo, if you pour water on the date-rape drug, they stick together" idea and the poor chinese factories are merely following the instructions? or am I missing something?
I'll give you two guesses.
They were supposed to use 1,5 pentanediol which is a common ingredient used to keep glues from getting sticky before they get wet. Instead they cut costs and used 1,4 butanediol (gamma-butyrolactone) which is a prodrug enzymatically metabolized into GHB.
GHB isn't *the* date rape drug. It's use, actually is primarily recreational (and, *no*, date rape is *not* recreation). Loss of conciousness is actually a rarity.
I heard this on the news last night and thought "Oh, they're tainted with rohypnol". When I read this article this morning, I saw that it was GHB.
Again, the media demonizing and misclassifying drugs. I'm not saying that GHB is good. Don't get me wrong at all. But the whole misclassification of things confuses parents, makes kids crave the stuff more, and generally, in it's lowest form, is misinformation.
And we know how slashdot folks hate sensationalized misinformation, right?
The older I get, the less I like everyone else.
Responsible parenting is one thing, but kids will stick anything in their mouth, and nose.
A childerens enviroment should therefore not contain things that A are small enough to swallow or B are harmfull if done so. Toys therefore have to be made in such a way that even with rough handling parts do not come off and are non-toxic. Thats the law. It really ain't even that hard. The original toy in this case WAS non-toxic. The chinese replaced the original glue with another, why? The chinese for some reason seem unable to follow specifications. All the recalls I seen from China are because they changed a part of the design for no good reason.
I am all for responsible parenting, but when a company creates a safe product and a chinese company replaces a harmless glue with a KNOWN dangerous one, what is a parent to do. The product HAD been tested before. Should you put everything through your own lab before giving it to your child?
Frankly it is about time the chinese start to act upon this. Launch a police investigation and find out why this glue was replaced.
But yes parents should also inspect the toys themselves, before you give a toddler a teddybear, try and see if you can pull it apart. but parents can't be expected to do chemical tests.
Frankly I think we need to thighten the rules, NO product is released without it first passing rigid and mandatory safety checks that test EVERYTHING. Release a product that proves harmfull and you are charged with attempted manslaughter. Why did this company not TEST their products one they arrived from china?
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Wrong about the GBL part. The chemical was actually 1,4-butanediol, used commercially in plastics processing. 1,4-B is converted to GHB in the body, but again has more toxic effects than GHB alone. Apparently the factory was supposed to use 1,5-pentanediol instead but the almighty yuan triumphed (again).
Cretin - a powerful and flexible CD reencoder
As someone who's actually had a product line manufactured in China, I can say this. In general, they consider product specifications as a guideline only. They'll do whatever they can to relax tolerances, substitute materials and shortcut processes to lower costs, without the engineering or product research background to support those decisions. They don't pass those lower costs on either.
I gave up having anything made in China years ago. The quality control alone ended up costing more than any savings I got from Chinese labor. In some products, we had as high as a 20% defect rate, and 5% was normal. Now I use automated machines to make my goods, and I hire local employees to do the design and operations work. You know what? now I have a better product AND a better price than I used to get from China!
http://www.rlt.com/
Five sick children and how many of these have been sold world-wide? Millions? And people should know that the according to ABC News (Australia) the two children there "...swallowed large amounts of the beads...."
Read that again. "Large amounts." http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/06/2082480.htm
This is a case of mass hysteria. More children probably get hurt from falling off a bicycle or choking on their Fruit Loops.
The pursuit of absolute tolerance leads to the most rigorous and ludicrous intolerance. - REX MURPHY
"ANYONE could fail a drug test that looked for GHB at any time. Same goes for a powerful psychedelic called DMT"
That's completely wrong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyltryptamine
"There are no drug tests that would show DMT usage. None of the basic NIDA 5 drug tests or any extended drug test will show a result for DMT."
"This stuff makes LSD look like a placebo in comparison."
That's wrong too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSD
"Dosages of LSD are measured in micrograms (g), or millionths of a gram. By comparison, dosages of almost all other drugs, both recreational and medicinal, are measured in milligrams (mg), or thousandths of a gram. Hofmann determined that an active dose of mescaline, roughly 0.2 to 0.5g, has effects comparable to 100g or less of LSD; put another way, LSD is between five to ten thousand times more active than mescaline."
I hate people like you so much, you sit around your fucking dorm room with your other loser friends and mentally masturbate about the drugs you take, repeating the same ridiculous misinformation, and propagating it to other losers like you in order to impress them with your "drug knowledge".
I think that would work a lot better if you actually bothered to know what the fuck you were talking about.
But, since it's clear you don't, all you've done is make yourself sound like another burnout spouting crap about things beyond the comprehension of his screwed up little brain.
And the story I read stated that according to a Chinese website listing chemical prices, there is a significant difference between the two. Someone along the ling of $2800 per metric ton for the 1,4-butanediol, and $9800 a metric ton for the 1,5-pentanediol.
Oh here we go - blatantly stolen from AP.
Both chemicals are manufactured in China and elsewhere, including by major multinational companies, and are also marketed over the Internet.
It's not clear why 1,4-butanediol was substituted. However, there is a significant difference in price between the two chemicals. The Chinese online trading platform ChemNet China lists the price of 1,4 butanediol at between about $1,350-$2,800 per metric ton, while the price for 1,5-pentanediol is about $9,700 per metric ton.
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20071108/D8SPHKFO4.html
Not to take away from the dangers of the GHB drug
GHB can actually be quite safe. For one it is a naturally occuring chemical that exists in every cell of your body RIGHT NOW. It can be used as an intoxicant but the words "date rape drug" are not fair. There are so many potential date rape drugs out there, alcohol being #1.
GHB is used as a sleep aid and to treat alcoholism. Also when small amounts of GHB are taken it increases growth hormones and has been used by bodybuilders. Of course it can be dangerous but calling it simply a "date rape drug" and nothing else is unfair.
unzip; strip; touch; finger; mount; fsck; more; yes; unmount; sleep
Everything I said was true, but for a different molecule: butadiene, not butanediol.
*sigh*
To do: get more sleep, read before hitting 'submit'
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.