China Laces Toys with Ecstacy

[Deborah]

(NewsTarget) The next time you see your infant enjoying a new made-in-China toy, you might want to check to make sure he's not having too much of a good time: A recent discovery reveals that toys called "Aqua Dots" are coated with a chemical similar to liquid ectasy. When children eat the Aqua Dots (which they're not supposed to do, but they're children, after all), they go into an ectasy-induced coma. Six children have fallen ill in Australia where the toys are marketed as Bindeez. Manufacturers and distributors of the product are pulling it off the shelves in North America and around the world. It's the latest in a long string of health scares from Mainland China's product manufacturers.

The chemical culprit of all this is 1,4-butanediol, which breaks down into gamma hydroxy butyrate, also known as the "date rape drug." This drug is obviously not supposed to be used in children's toys, but then again we're talking about manufacturers from Communist China, where it seems that anything goes as long as western retailers close their eyes and don't bother to conduct safety tests on these products. (Dog food, anyone?)

All this follows the recent, astonishing announcement by Nancy Nord of the U.S. government's Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that there's really no need to enhance the safety monitoring of consumer products in the United States. Under orders from the White House, Nord insisted that the CPSC didn't need any increase in funding, and that businesses should essentially remain unregulated. Nancy Nord, who is now widely regarded as a pro-business Bush puppet, jetted around the world on trips paid for by some of the very same wealthy corporations who don't want consumer product safety regulations.

Not surprisingly, virtually everyone following this issue is outraged at both Nancy Nord and the Bush Administration for apparently having no concern whatsoever for the safety of U.S. consumers. But why should this surprise us? The FDA openly approves dangerous pharmaceuticals that even the agency's own top scientists admit are killing at least a hundred thousand Americans each year. What's a little ectasy in children's toys when senior citizens on medications are dropping faster than the U.S. dollar?
http://www.newstarget.com/022250.html

[Anonymous]

Exactly how is MDMA the same as GHB?

This whole article is empty crap, and it's this kind of monkey-ass bullshit that leaves the field to the "mainstream" twits at CNN and NBC. The "mainstream" is wrong, the fringe idiots are even more wrong.

Does anyone give half a fuck about reality anymore?

[Anonymous]

Besides, let's face it- if kids old enough to play with these are swallowing them, it's Darwin making his mark.

I imagine the number of choking deaths from these things is larger than the GHB kills...

[Deborah]

Clearly you don't have children, but are you a scientist? I'm not.
Are you saying that 1,4-butanediol doesn't metabolize into GHB?
If not, then go edit Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1,4-Butanediol
and notify Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/ ... 2120071107

So, they should leave this product on the shelves so other kids can have the delightful experience of puking their guts out and coma? Death wasn't mentioned.
While 4-7 year old are less likely to ingest them, younger siblings that happen to find them lying around might. The beads are not large enough to be a choke hazard.

[Anonymous]

Exactly how is MDMA the same as GHB?

This whole article is empty crap, and it's this kind of monkey-ass bullshit that leaves the field to the "mainstream" twits at CNN and NBC. The "mainstream" is wrong, the fringe idiots are even more wrong.

Does anyone give half a fuck about reality anymore?

This guy is actually trying to defend the Chinese coating a children's toy with something that breaks down into a very potent drug? By saying it's just Darwinism at its best?? Can you say "another Pro Bush business puppet?"

[Buddha22]

:idea:
Thats screwed up...
toys that are laced with ecstasy sounds like china is experimenting with  
addictive substances for toys so companies can boost revenue

[Rachael]

Clearly you don't have children, but are you a scientist? I'm not.
Are you saying that 1,4-butanediol doesn't metabolize into GHB?
If not, then go edit Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1,4-Butanediol
and notify Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/ ... 2120071107

So, they should leave this product on the shelves so other kids can have the delightful experience of puking their guts out and coma? Death wasn't mentioned.
While 4-7 year old are less likely to ingest them, younger siblings that happen to find them lying around might. The beads are not large enough to be a choke hazard.

Uh... no one said that 1,4-Butanediol doesn't metabolize into GHB, nor did they say that this product should be left on the shelves, rather that GHB is not the same as MDMA which is what was stated in the article. More than that, the article is reactionary, inaccurate and intentionally sensationalist in a way that does not become any "journalist". But hey, that's the way y'all roll in the grand ol' U S of A, isn't it. Constant drama and terror so that no one ends up thinking too critically.

I don't mean to imply that this isn't a fairly major issue that certainly should give parents reason to think twice about what they bring into their homes and let their kids chew on, I just can't stand misleading, emotion-wrought reporting that obscures actual facts and concerns with snappy, punchy story-selling headlines like "China Laces Toys with Ecstacy". And on the subject of malicious exportation of dangerous products, maybe a country responsible for the "War on Terror" not to mention the entire "troubled teen" industry shouldn't be throwing stones from within their clearly fragile glass McMansion.

Here are some more facts, and a bit less fear-mongering if you're interested.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/1 ... eized.html[/url]

[hurrikayne]

Now I saw this toy advertised and I thought it was cool.  I hadn't gotten around to buying it yet though when the story broke about kids ingesting them.  

The story I read was something about a 9 year old and her sibling having ingested it and getting seriously ill.  I agree that a 9 year old should be old enough to know better than to eat their toys, but face it, good parenting is needed for some lessons, and some folks just suck at parenting.  Point in case, oh, every last one of us that is a survivor of any of the behavioral modification "resorts"/"boarding schools" whatever.  

My first thought about it was obviously why the Chinese would use this kind of substance in their toys.  Now, the littler child will innately put ANYTHING in their mouth.  Where was the parent?  That was my second thought...

[Deborah]

Is was reported that this chemical was used because it was cheaper than the non-toxic alternative.
Doesn't matter where the parent was. Parents can't have their eyes on the kids every moment. Kids will put things in their mouth and swallow things. This coating shouldn't be used for this reason, just as lead paint shouldn't be used on toys.
I'm sure those parents would've put it under lock and key and only allowed their kid to play with it under their supervision, IF it was disclosed on the packaging that swallowing the beads would result in violent vomitting and coma.

Rachael,
I despise the "War on Everything" too. Are you aware of the rash of unsafe products that we've experience in the past year. Two from China that come to mind are dog food and flip flops. The former killing many people's pets and the later causing people's feet to blister and peel under the straps of the flip flops.

Ultimately, the issue is lax safety regulations. Not that regs are much better here, we also had the spinach, peanut butter, hamburger recalls that were packaged here.

I looked at the article again and didn't see a reference to MDMA, or missed it.  What I read was

The chemical culprit of all this is 1,4-butanediol, which breaks down into gamma hydroxy butyrate, also known as the "date rape drug."

which was supported by other articles I read. What is MDMA?

[Froderik]

Where can I get one of these toys, Deb??

[Ursus]

Are you aware of the rash of unsafe products that we've experience in the past year. Two from China that come to mind are dog food and flip flops. The former killing many people's pets and the later causing people's feet to blister and peel under the straps of the flip flops.

What I have read about in the past year or so re. safety concerns from products manufactured in China are:  dog and cat food, toothpaste, lead paint on children's toys, and lastly, these beads.  Didn't know about the flip flops.

Ultimately, the issue is lax safety regulations. Not that regs are much better here, we also had the spinach, peanut butter, hamburger recalls that were packaged here.

I think that right now there is enormous pressure on Chinese manufacturers to excel in and dominate the world market.  The country has gone through an incredible amount of change just in the last ten years alone.  Clearly, a lot of corners are being cut.  They are going to end up shooting themselves in the foot if they don't start taking other countries' safety regulations and considerations more seriously.

[Rachael]

I looked at the article again and didn't see a reference to MDMA, or missed it.  What I read was

The chemical culprit of all this is 1,4-butanediol, which breaks down into gamma hydroxy butyrate, also known as the "date rape drug."

which was supported by other articles I read. What is MDMA?

MDMA is ecstacy. Comprendez-vous?

[Ursus]

There are two different "ecstasys" being discussed here.  "Real" Ecstasy (MDMA) and "liquid ecstasy" (GHB).  Two different beasts, with a small subset of some similar physiological effects at low doses, from two very different families.

If I am not mistaken, some of the confusion seems to stem from the original article's reference to Ecstasy in its title(?).  Elaboration within its first paragraph further confuses the picture:  "A recent discovery reveals that toys called "Aqua Dots" are coated with a chemical similar to liquid ectasy. When children eat the Aqua Dots (which they're not supposed to do, but they're children, after all), they go into an ectasy-induced coma."

GHB is finally referred to in the second paragraph, but by this time the obfuscation has already been done: "The chemical culprit of all this is 1,4-butanediol, which breaks down into gamma hydroxy butyrate, also known as the 'date rape drug.'"

To be clear, "real" Ecstasy is not GHB.

The chemical name of Ecstacy is (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine), which is commonly shortened to MDMA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDMA

The chemical of concern in the article, 1,4-Butanediol, is metabolized into gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and other metabolites by the body using some of  the same enzymes your body uses to break down alcohol.  It's more complex than that, of course, since GHB is not alcohol.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1,4-Butanediol  

Given its history in as an aid in sexual predation, no one in their right mind would knowingly take this drug thinking it was "real" Ecstasy.  Ironically, some apparently still do, since one of its street names is "liquid ecstasy."

As a club scene or "rave" drug

Since the 1970s club scene, club-goers have used a range of drugs to enhance their experience on the dance floor such as amyl nitrite "poppers" and cocaine; in the 1990s, newer "club drugs" became popular, such as ketamine and Ecstasy (MDMA). Like these other "club drugs," GHB is taken because users feel that it enhances the experience of being in a club or at a party; GHB is sometimes referred to as liquid ecstasy due to its tendency to produce euphoria and sociability and its use in the dance party scene.

The effects of GHB, however, are quite different from those of MDMA. At low doses, GHB can cause a state of euphoria, increased libido, increased sociability, and intoxication. GHB is commonly used at rave parties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-hydroxybutyric_acid[/list]