"The United States leads the world with uniform, effective and fair enforcement of its regulations. Yes, I said fair."
-- David A. Miller, President, Toy Manufacturers of America
CPSC regulates only if necessary when negotiated voluntary standards and the marketplace prove to be ineffective.
In the past year, CPSC published regulations to require that certain mouthwashes and medications toxic to children be in child-resistant packages and that child-resistant packaging closures be adult-friendly. It also adopted a legislatively- mandated rule on toy safety labeling and is moving forward with a legislatively mandated regulation on bicycle helmets.
Beyond saving lives and preventing injuries, smart government can have the effect of leveling the playing field for business by providing a single national standard to help those who comply keep dangerous and nonconforming products out of the marketplace.
For example, CPSC enlisted the help of industry to develop a single mandatory standard to make cigarette lighters child-resistant. CPSC projects this standard will produce $400 million in annual net benefits to society, preventing up to 100 deaths and several hundred injuries and millions of dollars in property damage each year. Other success stories in this section include preventing poisonings through child-resistant packaging, preventing fireworks injuries and deaths, and improving the health of Americans through the lead-in-paint standard.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the
unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's
jurisdiction.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury and for information on
CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter
at (301) 595-7054.
Consumers can also report product hazards via electronic mail by sending a message to
info@cpsc.gov.
Comments: info@cpsc.gov
Revised: May 5, 1996
URL: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/success/stointr5.html