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Show The Plastic Bag Menace The number of deaths of infants caused by the misuse of plastic bags as playthings, pillowslips or mattress covers has risen to at least thirty in the nation, medical authorities now say. As a result, the Utah State Medical Association this week joined in urging parents to take preventative measures against dangerous use of the outwardly harmless bags by small children. Dr. U. R. Bryner, president of the Utah State Medical Association, explained that small children, putting the bags over their heads in innocent play, run extreme danger of suffocation. suffo-cation. In other cases, parents have mistakenly used the readily available bags as pillow cases or mattress covers and static electricity, making the plastic adhere to the youngster's mouth and nostrils, adds to the great danger of suffocation. As a result, the American Medical Association, which first warned of the suffocation danger and alerted parents, police and health officials, - has joined with the National Safety Council, U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association and the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., to s educate the public against misuse of the bags. With additional produce, clothing, bakery goods, hardware and similar items being packaged in the plastic, more and more children across the nation are being exposed to the materials. As a result, only a campaign of education of both parents and teachers will Be effective in lessening the danger. 1 |
