Permanent ban on small, high powered magnets in Australia

[rubai]

http://www.productsafety.gov.au/content ... mId/997603

[day1976]

What a Nanny State we live in!
I say we should ban Australian currency because kids swallow these too!

[LouiseAnn]

What a Nanny State we live in!
I say we should ban Australian currency because kids swallow these too!

+1

[s_mc500]

That's a big negative

[Yurt]

Must hang on to our Buckyballs then!

[gmj3191]

Old HDD magnets are best anyway.

[Papa Bear_Left]

The ones small enough to be a swallowing threat to kids are too small to hold up any container much bigger than a (shudder) Eclipse tin.

So, I'm all in favour of this move if it helps stem the tide of boring little micros!

[LouiseAnn]

But what about all those people who use them to hold up their pathtag collections?

[Team Wibble]

But what about all those people who use them to hold up their pathtag collections?

The way I read it, the ban only covers sale of spherical magnets that are sold specifically as toys, ie:


that are supplied as aggregated masses or in multiples of two or more; and
that are intended or marketed by the manufacturer primarily as a manipulative or construction desk toy or as jewellery; and
that have a magnetic flux index of greater than 50 kG2mm2; and
where the product supplied contains more than one magnet that fits within the small parts cylinder specified in the International Standards Organization Toy Standard (ISO 8124-1:2009, Safety of toys).


Which, unless I'm misinterpreting it, means if I'm buying rare earth magnets that are marketed as magnets to be used as magnets to hold something on my pathtag board, it's okay. Could be wrong though.

I wonder if this distinction is made because buckyballs (which are awesome, by the way), being marketed as a toy, ends up being bought by people who are really unaware just how dangerous these are when they're swallowed by children. There's a big difference between a kid swallowing a coin and having their intestines ripped and perforated by high powered magnets.
Those who buy these magnets because they're using them for magnetic purposes might be more aware of the dangers, and the warnings on the packet, and (like myself), keep a close eye on them and make sure they're out of reach when little people visit the house.

[quiet1_au]

But what about all those people who use them to hold up their pathtag collections?

The way I read it, the ban only covers sale of spherical magnets that are sold specifically as toys, ie:


that are supplied as aggregated masses or in multiples of two or more; and
that are intended or marketed by the manufacturer primarily as a manipulative or construction desk toy or as jewellery; and
that have a magnetic flux index of greater than 50 kG2mm2; and
where the product supplied contains more than one magnet that fits within the small parts cylinder specified in the International Standards Organization Toy Standard (ISO 8124-1:2009, Safety of toys).


Which, unless I'm misinterpreting it, means if I'm buying rare earth magnets that are marketed as magnets to be used as magnets to hold something on my pathtag board, it's okay. Could be wrong though.

Nanny state? Well only if they go beyond keeping them away from kids I think...

The marketed line does suggest the toy market only, most likely to get them out of toy-shops, perhaps the science/gizmo shops too.
I doubt eBay will be affected, nor magnets bought as scientific/contruction materiel from arts & crafts or hardware stores. (But might stock up just in case... )

Whilst the pinch danger of these magnets was something they clearly warn of from reputable sellers - although mainly the large ones - the consequences of swallowing them wasn't something I even considered until I saw news reports just after buying my buckyball equivalents locally off eBay... Very gruesome...

[iamapom]

Yes, it's toys only.

This is the first Victorian interim ban introduced under the Australian Consumer Law’s product safety powers. The ban applies to small, separable or loose permanent magnetic objects:

that are supplied as aggregated masses or in multiples of two or more; and
that are intended or marketed by the manufacturer primarily as a manipulative or construction desk toy or as jewellery; and
that have a magnetic flux index of greater than 50 kG2mm2; and
where the product supplied contains more than one magnet that fits within the small parts cylinder specified in the International Standards Organization Toy Standard (ISO 8124-1:2009, Safety of toys).

[Yurt]

If they banned facial piercings kids wouldn't swallow them. The kids who have swallowed them to date (that I've read about) thought it fun to put magnets (Buckyballs) on both sides (in and out) of their lips so they could look like their cool idol.

Yes I am being magnet in cheek here.

[Ranger Roo]

What a Nanny State we live in!
I say we should ban Australian currency because kids swallow these too!

There is a huge difference between swallowing money and magnets - the danger is that if two magnets are ingested and end up in adjacent loops of bowel they can erode through causing perforation - I have seen several kids with horrific perforations secondary to these. Whether that means they should be banned, I guess that is a matter of opinion.