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Study suggests sex toys safer than kids' toys
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The Swedish Chemicals Agency says it was challenging to find out why children’s toys contained more dangerous substances than sex toys.
(Shutterstock/File)
A
very interesting report released Monday by Swedish inspection authority suggests that fewer sex toys contain dangerous chemicals than children’s toys.
According to a Swedish Chemicals Agency study conducted in 2015, 15 percent of 112 children’s toys contained banned chemical substances, including lead. Surprisingly, its 2016 study revealed that only 2 percent of 44 surveyed sex toys imported into Sweden contained prohibited chemicals.
Agency inspector Frida Ramstrom told AFP the finding was surprising and that it was the first time it had done such a study.
Only one out of 44 sex toys that were examined proved to contain a harmful substance, whereas more children’s toys contained dangerous chemicals.
(Read also: Consumer group releases annual list of dangerous summer toys)
The agency emphasized that it was challenging to find the reason why more children’s toys contained dangerous substances.
A possible explanation, said agency spokesperson Bjorn Malmstrom, was that sex toys were often imported by large companies, resulting in increased pressure on manufacturers to refrain from using harmful chemicals. Children’s toys, on the other hand, are mostly imported by smaller firms that have less leverage to make such demands.
Swedish law clearly states that children’s toys must never contain materials that pose a risk to human health. (nik/kes)
