Damn, if only I knew about this
before the recall. =(
QUOTE(news.com.au)
A 19-month-old boy was in a Queensland hospital after ingesting a toy that was yesterday banned interstate.
Bindeez have been found to contain a chemical that converts into the toxic illegal drug GHB, also known as fantasy, when ingested.
The toy has been banned across the country.
A Queensland ambulance spokesman said the boy was taken to St Vincent's Hospital at Toowoomba yesterday after falling ill, and was be transported to the Mater last night.
The boy's grandfather told ABC Radio in Sydney his grandson fell unconscious after swallowing some of the beads.
"We've just heard from my daughter in Toowoomba that her two-year-old son has just swallowed some of those beads - just recently, I don't know whether it was today or yesterday,'' said the man, identified only as Nick.
He said his grandson was taken to Brisbane for treatment.
"Apparently he's unconscious,'' he said.
Chinese-made Bindeez, which won the 2007 Australian Toy of the Year award at the Melbourne Toy and Hobby fair, contains hundreds of beads which can induce seizures, drowsiness or a coma if eaten.
Two children in New South Wales, a two-year-old boy and a ten-year-old girl, have been admitted to hospital in the past 10 days after eating the beads leading the toy's banning in that state.
The toy was yesterday also banned in South Australia.
Despite being alerted to the dangers, the Victorian Government has not followed the interstate lead and withdrawn Bindeez from sale. Consumer Affairs Minister Tony Robinson has instead asked that the product be examined.
His spokeswoman, Emma Diffen, said Consumer Affairs Victoria was examining the product and would take the appropriate action, which might involve removing it from sale.
A Target spokesman said an order had gone out to pull the product from its shelves across Australia yesterday morning. But the Herald Sun bought a Bindeez starter at Target's city store at 1.40pm yesterday.
Contacted by phone yesterday afternoon, a Myer saleswoman also said the product could be purchased at its Bourke St store.
While Bindeez is her children's favourite toy, mother of three Jodie was taking no chances yesterday, immediately banning them from playing with the beads.
"I am worried, because my children have been playing with them all the time," she said.
"My kids haven't eaten them, but I can't let them play with them now. They are so small that they could be dropped in food or anything and you wouldn't know."
But another mother of three, Pat Levy, said she would not take the beads from her children because they were old enough to know not to swallow them, and were not in danger.
"The kids love those things, and I love them because there is no mess. They teach the kids to be creative," she said.
A Department of Human Services spokesman said Victoria had had no health complaints.
Sorce.
