According to the Associated Press, the United States is not the only recipient of defective, dangerous toys from China. In Australia, several children were hospitalized after swallowing beads from a popular toy because they contained a chemical which, when ingested, is converted into gamma hydroxy butyrate, otherwise known as the "date rape" drug.
Parents really need to sit up and take notice of the dangers of importing so many Chinese-made toys. Perhaps parents and grandparents might consider a boycott to get the attention of toy companies. I know it's close to Christmas, and a boycott right now might be difficult, but let's face it - most of our children already have enough toys, and if we spent this Christmas searching for special types of presents that are not made in China, it might send an urgent message to those American companies (and now Australian companies) who import cheap Chinese toys.
In a related story, CNN reported a few days ago that there are problems with imports of prescription drugs from China. According to the network, up to fifty percent of all pharmaceutical ingredients are imported from China, with little to no inspection or regulation. According to the New York Times, "chemical associations in the United States and Europe cautioned that globalization has led to a rise in complexity in supply chains" for pharmaceutical ingredients, making both counterfeiting and contamination more common. In fact, two Chinese government exporters mislabeled a poison as a drug ingredient and were responsible for the deaths of 200 people in Haiti and Panama. Other companies use the internet to sell counterfeit medications to consumers in the United States and other countries.
In China, companies that sell drug ingredients fall into a regulatory gap and so are not subject to government inspection. The FDA, which should be protecting Americans from tainted and counterfeit medication is seriously under-funded and cannot possibly inspect all plants in China, nor check all imports coming to the United States. According to the Times, Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said "China alone has more than 700 firms making drug products for the U.S., yet the F.D.A. has resources to conduct only about 20 inspections a year in China."
Ah, the wonders of globalization. Not only are our children's toys coated with lead paint, a substantial amount of our medicine might be, at best, nothing more than placebo, and at worst, poison.
We could put a lot of people to work if we opened more toy factories and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants here in the United States. More importantly, we could better protect our health and the health of our children.
Sure, toys and medication might cost a little more. But what price does one put on the life or the health of a child?
