Don't let your children play with laser pointers, they can cause blindness

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine released the results of the investigation, saying that among the children's products with major safety hazards, laser pens ranked first

Beijing News (Reporter Li Tingting) As Children's Day is approaching, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China released the "Survey Results on Quality and Safety Awareness of Products Protecting Children's Eyes" and "Defective Consumer Product Recall and Consumer Warning Information" the day before yesterday.

The survey found that most parents are aware of the impact of some products on eye damage, but do not pay attention to regular vision checks for their children. Nearly 60% of parents do not take their children for regular vision checks.

At the same time, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine found through special investigations and monitoring that laser pens ranked first among children's products with major safety hazards.

Wu Xiaobo, deputy director of the China National Institute of Standardization, introduced that this survey was conducted in the form of a questionnaire survey. Parents of children from 7 primary schools and 9 kindergartens were randomly selected as survey subjects, and a total of 2,600 questionnaires were distributed.

The survey results show that when asked about what items may harm children's eyes, 96% of parents chose computers and mobile phones; 85% of parents chose televisions, laser pens and game consoles. Regarding eyesight checks, only 41.4% of parents take their children for eyesight checks regularly. In terms of prevention, 11.6% of parents do not read product instructions and safety warnings carefully.

It is reported that on January 1 this year, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine clearly included children's products in the recall supervision scope. As of May 18, in terms of recalls of children's products, various types of children's toys were recalled 142 times, involving 123,000 pieces; various types of children's cars were recalled 207 times, involving 110,000 vehicles; children's clothing was recalled twice, involving 989 pieces, etc.

Wang Huiping, deputy director of the Defective Product Management Center of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, introduced that through special market investigations, national product injury detection system inspections and special monitoring of online public opinion, it was found that among children's products with major safety hazards, laser pens ranked first.

Wang Huiping said that the reason why laser pens cause harm is the thermal effect, which can damage the eyes and skin. Due to the imaging characteristics of the eye, when the laser passes through the eye, it will be focused on a very small point on the retina, causing an instantaneous increase in temperature and destroying the photoreceptor cells of the retina. If the laser energy is strong enough, it will cause permanent damage before it causes a blink reflex (usually less than 1 second).

Commercially available laser pens usually have very good power and can even ignite matches, cigarettes, clothing, etc., posing a fire hazard. Wang Huiping reminded that laser pens are not toys, and it is best not to use laser pens with high radiation power. If you must use one, it is recommended to use products below the 3R level and check whether the product manual and labels are complete.