Two New York lawmakers have asked the state to mandate child-resistant packaging for the colorful Tide Pods detergent packets, and to switch to a less appealing design.
This comes amid the ridiculous yet dangerous trend of people eating them and encouraging or daring others to do the same.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat, and Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, a Queens Democrat, unveiled their proposal Tuesday, noting several deaths around the country tied to the Tide Pods challenge.
“We’re asking for all laundry detergent pods to be uniform in color,” Hoylman said.
“All we have to make sure is that public safety trumps [Procter & Gamble’s] profits,” Simontas added.
Eating Tide Pods started as a challenge on social media. Teenagers began posting videos of themselves chewing and gagging on the small, colorful detergent pods, and daring others to follow suit. Some social media users have posted videos of themselves cooking the pods before eating them.
[lz_jwplayer video=X46GcaCL]
They say the pods also are a risk to young children and adults with dementia who might mistake them for something edible.
“They’re squishy, they smell sweet, and they look like gummy bears,” Hoylman explained.
[lz_third_party align=center width=630 includes=https://twitter.com/bradhoylman/status/960597614814261249]
Laundry detergent contains several chemicals that can be poisonous if ingested. The chemicals can cause vomiting, diarrhea, liver and kidney damage and even death. The American Association of Poison Control Centers has reported 154 calls to poison control centers relating to teenagers ingesting the pods this year, up from 53 cases last year.
Following the dangerous trend, Tide took action to stop people from eating the pods by putting out warnings and PSA ads starring New England Patriots star player Rob Gronkowski.
Amazon, which sells the pods on its site, disabled comments from users who wrote the detergent capsules were “delicious,” The Verge reported.
YouTube also vowed to take down videos of anybody doing the “Tide Pod Challenge.”
Related: ‘Tide Pod Challenge’ Harms Yet Another Young Victim
Last month, Procter & Gamble CEO David Taylor said the company was working to remove online videos featuring people participating in the challenge.
He urged adults to help young people understand “this is no laughing matter.”
“However, even the most stringent standards and protocols, labels and warnings can’t prevent intentional abuse fueled by poor judgment and the desire for popularity,” Taylor wrote in a post published on the company’s website.
This Fox News piece is used by permission; the Associated Press contributed.
Read more at Fox News:
Kim Cattrall Announces Death of Her Brother After Calling for Help Finding Him
Interlocked Spiral of Ancient Skeletons Unearthed in Mexico City
NBC’s Super Bowl Broadcast Goes Dark for Almost 30 Seconds
(photo credit, homepage and article images: Tide Laundry Detergent Pods [1], [2], CC BY 2.0, by Mike Mozart)
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.