By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning All-Terrain Vehicle or ATV riders to take precautions to stay safe this holiday weekend and riding season.

For the four-day period surrounding the 2009 Memorial Day holiday, the commission is aware of 27 fatalities, with two under the age of 16, averaging almost seven deaths a day.

As the main ATV riding season kicks into gear, so does the increase in deaths. Just last month, the commission staff learned through media reports of at least 40 fatalities between April 1 and April 30, including 12 involving children younger than 16 years of age.

Commission data indicates that ATV-related deaths jump on average 30 percent from March to April for children younger than 16 years of age. Adult deaths increase 88 percent on average for the same time period.

During 2003-2005, ATV-related deaths rose each month during the spring and into the summer, peaking in July, when 23 children and 76 adults were killed in ATV-related incidents on average.

In April 2009, manufacturers and distributors were required to offer free, hands-on training through their dealers to first-time purchasers and members of their immediate families.

The commission also requires companies to offer first-time purchasers an incentive valued at $100 for taking the hands-on training offered by the ATV Safety Institute or ASI. ASI also offers online training for experienced ATV riders.

Many ATV-related deaths and injuries are preventable. The commission encourages all ATV riders, young and old, to make this riding season safer by following the basic rules of the trail: 

• Take a hands-on safety training course. 
• Always wear protective gear – especially a helmet – when riding ATVs. 
• Don’t ride or drive a single-rider ATV with a passenger or ride as a passenger. 
• Don’t drive ATVs on paved roads. 
• Don’t permit children younger than 16 to drive or ride adult ATVs. Always choose an age-appropriate ATV for your child.

Recreational off-highway vehicles or ROVs, also known as side-by-sides, have grown in popularity in recent years, and the commission wants riders and passengers to know that they’re different from ATVs. ROVs have a steering wheel, bench or bucket seats, seatbelts, foot controls, and a roll cage. They, too, are associated with a number of fatalities and injuries every year.

Keep safety first when using both types of off road vehicle, the commission recommends. To learn more, visit ATVSafety.gov.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Many American consumers know that eating too much salt is bad for their health. They’re also able to figure out when they look at canned soups and see 410 mg of salt for a serving of soup – 35 percent of the daily allowance of sodium – that it’s too much.

However, with busy lives, consumers eat high amounts of sodium in processed and fast food.

Today’s average sodium intake is several times what the body requires and its long-term effect on the health of consumers is serious, reports the Food and Drug Administration.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects one in three U.S. adults – nearly 75 million people aged 20 or older. An additional 50 million adults suffer from pre-hypertension. High blood pressure can increase the risk for heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and kidney failure. Too much sodium in the daily diet is a major contributor to high blood pressure.

I’ve wanted the FDA to take strict action on sodium for years. Putting so much sodium in processed and fast food is contrary to good health. It needs to be stopped.

I cheered when I read an article in The Washington Post recently that the FDA has begun the process of regulating the amount of sodium in foods. About time, I thought.

However, the FDA said in a statement that it’s not currently working on salt regulations nor has it made a decision to regulate sodium content in foods at this time. See “FDA Issues Statement on IOM Sodium Report” for details.

A report from the Institute of Medicine concludes that national action is imperative to reduce the sodium content of foods if the country is to make significant progress toward reducing the risk of hypertension and major cardiovascular events for American consumers.

The FDA said it will more thoroughly review the recommendations of the IOM report and build plans for how the FDA can continue to work with other federal agencies, public health and consumer groups, and the food industry to support the reduction of sodium levels in the food supply.

The Department of Health and Human Services will be establishing an interagency working group on sodium at the department that will review options and next steps, the FDA also reported.

“Success in reducing sodium intake will require coordinated national action, with participation of all,” the FDA said in a news release on sodium. “We are encouraged by the fact that some food manufacturers have already begun or announced their commitment to reduce sodium levels in their products.”

The FDA also gave this advice to consumers:

As a consumer, you can start lowering your sodium intake today by purchasing foods low in sodium, asking your grocer to carry more low-sodium products, and asking for low-sodium options at restaurants.

How disappointing. The federal government needs to require that sodium levels be dropped. To set up another study group and tell consumers that they should cut sodium when the marketplace is saturated with sodium-ladened foods boarders on the ridiculous. And to refer to voluntary actions by food manufacturers – who know that people crave foods high in salt, sugar, and fat – is laughable.

Stand up FDA. Regulate sodium levels now.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Green America, formerly Co-op America, wants Americans to take “The Green Economy Challenge” to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.

The challenge asks consumers to shift 10 percent of their current spending to green purchases.

American households spend about $3 trillion per year on items that could easily be greened. If Americans directed one tenth of these expenditures to purchasing from a green or local business, it would steer $300 billion towards more sustainable consumption.

“Going green saves money, creates jobs, and supports local communities,” said Green America Executive Director Alisa Gravitz.  “Green is the new red, white, and blue.”

Green products are those that are good for people and the planet.

Green American offers these 10 tips for going green:

1. Borrow, trade, or buy used.

2. Grow your own food.

3. Green your energy at home.

4. Give your car a break.

5. Buy used, organic, or sweat-shop-free clothes.

6. Buy organic and fair-trade personal care products.

7. Buy green home products.

8. Support local green businesses.

9. Invest in a greener future with the money you save.

10. Use Green America’s National Green Pages to get started.

See the news release “10 Ways to Shift $300 billion for the Planet: For Earth Day, Green America Urges Americans to take ‘The Green Economy Challenge’” for details on these 10 action items.

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By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

National pharmacy chain Walgreens has agreed to pay nearly $6 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company deceptively advertised “Wal-Born” – a line of dietary supplements similar to the Airborne cold-and-flu treatment – using baseless claims that the supplements could prevent colds, fight germs, and boost the immune system.

In addition, a federal court has approved a settlement in a separate case that will require a $565,000 payment by the two officers of Improvita Health Products Inc., the manufacturer of Walgreens’ “Wal-Born” and other supplements. The FTC suit against the corporate defendant, Improvita Health Products, Inc., remains in litigation.

Walgreens sold the supplements under its store name, and touted their similarity to supplements sold by Airborne Health Inc., which settled FTC deceptive advertising charges in 2008. Walgreens advertised its Wal-Born supplements online, in newspaper circulars nationwide, and on packaging. Improvita manufactured store-brand versions of Airborne for various retailers, including Walgreens and Rite Aid, and it marketed its own brand of lozenges and tablets under the name Germ Defense.

The FTC’s agreements with Walgreens and the Improvita officers come after the agency settled similar cases last year alleging that two other pharmacy chains, CVS and Rite Aid, deceptively advertised the same kinds of supplements sold in their stores.

Under the proposed settlement with Walgreens and the approved settlement with the Improvita officers, all the defendants are or would be barred from claiming that their products prevent or treat cold or flu symptoms, or protect against cold and flu viruses by boosting the immune system, unless there is scientific evidence to back up these claims.

The $5.97 million settlement with Walgreens includes $1.2 million that was used to pay consumers as the result of a separate class action suit.

As part of their settlement with the FTC, Improvita officers Thomas B. Klamet and Daniel P. Kohler will pay $325,000 and $240,000, respectively. Klamet and Kohler also must take steps to ensure that their employees comply with the settlement, and they must comply with standard FTC record-keeping and reporting requirements.

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By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Now that lead is banned in products for children, the makers of cheap children’s jewelry are substituting another toxic chemical – cadmium.

An investigation by the Associated Press reported high cadmium levels in items including bracelet charms from Wal-Mart and Claire’s stores. Lab tests conducted for the AP on 103 pieces of low-priced children’s jewelry, nearly all exported from China, found 12 items with cadmium content above 10 percent of the total weight.

Several of those shed very high amounts of the metal when analyzed for how much of the toxin a child might be exposed to after swallowing the item.

Like lead, cadmium can hinder brain development in young children, according to recent research. It also causes cancer.

Writing in a blog post, Inez Tenenbaum, chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said:

Now we hear about cadmium in jewelry. This is unacceptable. Just this week, I sent a clear message warning manufacturers against the use of heavy metals, ‘especially cadmium,’ in a keynote speech that was delivered Tuesday at the APEC Toy Safety Initiative/Dialogue in Hong Kong.

Because of these recent developments, I have a message for parents, grandparents and caregivers: Do not allow young children to be given or to play with cheap metal jewelry, especially when they are unsupervised.

We have proof that lead in children’s jewelry is dangerous and was pervasive in the marketplace. To prevent young children from possibly being exposed to lead, cadmium or any other hazardous heavy metal, take the jewelry away.

Tenenbaum said the commission is moving swiftly to stop the replacement of lead with cadmium and other hazardous heavy metals in children’s products imported from China.

We are also actively investigating the jewelry cited in the recent AP story and will inform parents and consumers quickly of any actions we take as a result of our efforts. Our investigation is squarely focused on ensuring the safety of children.

Tenenbaum added:

It is very difficult for a parent to determine if an item contains harmful levels of a metal in a specific item except by checking recalls listed on the CPSC Web site. Parents should know that swallowing, sucking on, or chewing a metal charm or necklace could result in exposure to lead, cadmium or other heavy metals, which are known to be toxic at certain levels of exposure.

We are working to take decisive action at CPSC, using the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, a law aimed at keeping kids safe from toxic chemicals and metals.

Tenenbaum said a tragic incident occurred in March 2006, which had a significant impact on the CPSC. Jarnell Brown, a 4-year old boy from Minneapolis, Minn., swallowed a metal charm that was nearly pure lead. He died four days later.

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