News and Notes 97
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96 Injury Prevention 1998;4:96–97 ... while in Canada, helmet laws nated eVorts. It sets targets for the reduction Inj Prev: first published as 10.1136/ip.4.2.96 on 1 June 1998. Downloaded from knocked of deaths and injuries requiring hospitalisa- NEWS AND tion for traYc collisions, fires, drownings, and As summer approached, the debate over those in the workplace and home. Recognis- NOTES bicycle helmets in Canada was heating up. ing the lack of information on sport and rec- Countering a growing movement to get reational injuries the report notes that this helmet laws passed in every province is an area requires further attention. Further details: organization called the Ontario Coalition for Minister’s Injury Prevention Committee, c/o Better Cycling whose web site applauds the OYce for Injury Prevention, Environmental Revised injury control manual from failures of helmet law lobbyists and the Health Assessment and Safety Branch, BC Ministry of Health, 7-1 1515 Blanshard AAP watering down of Ontario’s law (only cyclists younger than 18 must wear helmets or face a Street, Victoria BC V8V 3C8, Canada (fax: The new injury control manual from the fine in that province). The group argues that +1 250 952 1342). American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the government should instead mandate now available and by all accounts is well cycling education in schools, on the grounds Our Healthier Nation worth looking at. It contains new chapters on that more crashes and injuries can be violence, sports injuries, agricultural injuries, prevented “by getting children to appreciate A Contract for Health is how the UK govern- the need to cycle responsibly”. and injury control in child care, preschool, ment subtitled this consultation paper setting school, and camp settings. A hands-on refer- targets for health in England. It proposes four ence tool for professionals, it includes statisti- ... and CPSC issues new standard for main areas of health that require particular cal information as well as strategies for injury attention, including accidents. The govern- bike helmets prevention. For details of how to buy a copy ment is seeking to reduce the rates of of Injury Prevention and Control for Children unintentional deaths and injuries that need The US Consumer Product Safety Commis- and Youth, 3rd edition by the Committee on medical attention by a fifth by the year 2010 sion (CPSC) has voted unanimously to issue Injury and Poison Prevention, editor Mark compared with 1996. The paper identifies a new federal safety standard for bike Widome, contact AAP (tel: (from USA and responsibilities for central government and helmets. The new standard will for the first Canada) 800 433 9016 or (from elsewhere) other national players, local agencies and time in the US provide one uniform manda- +1 847 228 5005; fax: +1 847 228 1281; communities, and the population at large. e-mail: [email protected]). tory safety standard that all bike helmets Addressing inequalities in health and social must meet. About 900 people, including exclusion are major planks in this strategy. more than 200 children, are killed annually in Our Healthier Nation can be visited at the bicycle related incidents in the USA, and Department of Health’s web site, US-Nordic conference on rural injury about 60% of these deaths involve a head prevention www.open.gov/doh/ohn/ohnhome.htm. The injury. In addition, more than 500 000 people consultation period ended on 30 April and are treated annually in US hospital emer- The papers presented at the Stockholm con- will lead to the publication of policy state- gency rooms for bicycle related injuries. ment (a white paper) during the summer. ference on rural childhood injury prevention Research indicates that a helmet can reduce in November 1996 have been published. The the risk of head injury by up to 85%. Begin- http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/ meeting compared approaches to prevention ning February 1999, all bike helmets manu- The CVIC Safe Communities Program in Scandinavia with those in the US. Further factured or imported for sale in the US will details: Kungl Skogsoch Landbruksakadem- have to meet the new federal safety standard Recognizing the need to better serve commu- ien, Drottninggatan 95 B, Box 6806, 113 86 set by CPSC. The new standard ensures that nities, a Safe Communities Program has been Stockholm, Sweden (fax: +46 (0) 8 32 21 bike helmets will adequately protect the head established at the Center for Violence and 30). and that chin straps will be strong enough to Injury Control (CVIC) in the Allegheny Uni- prevent the helmet from coming oV in a versity of the Health Sciences, Pittsburgh crash, collision, or fall. In addition, the new Campus. Directing this program is injury ... and more on farm safety standard requires that helmets intended for control specialist Samuel N Forjuoh, MD, children up to age 5 cover more of the head to DrPH. The first project to start under this Canada’s first national database program on provide added protection to the more fragile new program on 1 April 1998 is a replication farm injuries has produced its premiere areas of a young child’s skull. of the Seattle bike helmet campaign in the city report, Fatal Farm Injuries in Canada, 1991– of Pittsburgh using the Safe Communities 97, which analyzes these fatalities by cause, approach. Funded by a local foundation, the TraYc calming guide from Belfast age, and location. Not surprisingly, children Federation of Independent School Alumnae, on September 27, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. of farm owner-operators are among the high a program coordinator has recently been hired risk groups. Tractors caused close to half of Under the auspices of the Belfast Healthy to begin an expanded coalition building. Fur- the work related farm deaths over all ages, Cities Project, brief guidelines have been ther details: Dr Samuel N Forjuoh, Center for and preteen children as well as youth are well published to provide members of community Violence and Injury Control (fax: +1 412 330 represented in those numbers. Drownings groups with information to explain the 6122; e-mail: [email protected]). and injuries from recreational vehicles were concept of traYc calming, whether it is right the leading cause of non-work related deaths, for them and how to set the wheels in motion mostly to younger children. Copies of the to get their area calmed. The guidelines give ICE web site report cost C$10 from Lisa Hartling, Na- examples of calming methods and explain tional Coordinator, Canadian Agricultural how decisions on installing calming measures “Take a moment to visit AdvICE on Injury Injury Surveillance Program, Department of are taken by the local authority. A series of Statistics, the new web site for the Inter- Emergency Medicine, Queen’s University, case studies from around the city highlight national Collaborative EVort on Injury Sta- Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada (fax: the processes and the problems encountered. tistics”, extols Lois Fingerhut. It will be found by beginning under international activities on +1 613 548 1374; e-mail: LH12@post. TraYc Calming: A Guide for Community can be obtained from Belfast Healthy this page: www.cdc.gov/nchswww/about/ queensu.ca). Groups Cities Project, The Beeches, 12 Hampton otheract/otheract.htm. Manor Drive, Belfast BT7 3EN, UK (fax: +44 1232 643723). Helmet laws debate Poison control centers save lives “Laws enforcing helmet-wearing for cyclists BC Injury Free National Poison Prevention Week was ob- do more harm than good”. This was the served on 15–21 March 1998. Speaking at motion for a written debate in Australian A comprehensive report, BC Injury Free—A the news conference to launch the week, Dr Doctor in February 1998, with Dorothy Rob- Framework for Action, was published in George Rodgers, President of the American inson of the University of New South Wales February 1997 by British Columbia’s provin- Association of Poison Control Centers, em- proposing the motion and Brisbane surgeon cial government. Its aim is to prevent phasized the lifesaving advice provided by the and ISCAIP founder member Caroline unintentional injury among children and nation’s poison control centers. “Poison con- Acton putting the case against. youth by providing a framework for coordi- trol centers save lives and health care costs. News and Notes 97 Every dollar spent on a poison control center resistant packaging. The projects aims were CPSC recalls Inj Prev: first published as 10.1136/ip.4.2.96 on 1 June 1998. Downloaded from saves about $7 in medical expenses. Without to evaluate test methods to produce docu- poison centers, victims would have to go to mentation to assist decision making on the It has been a busy time for the US CPSC. emergency rooms. Without immediate inter- proposed child care and use standard; Recalls have been announced for a range of vention, some victims might die”. Another increase the general competence on child child related products including: participant at the National Poison Prevention safety in the participating institutions; de- Week news conference was 2 year old Amy velop proposals for reproducible and valid x 13 000 oak cribs. The cribs have a drop Spangenberg, from Centreville, VA. She was test methods; learn and draw experience from gate (a rail that folds down) on the front of poisoned when she swallowed some moth- panel tests; evaluate whether the panel test is the crib, rather than a rail that slides up and balls a neighbor had scattered on the ground a relevant technique for testing packages; try down. A baby’s fingers can be trapped in to repel animals. Through quick action advised by a poison control center, the girl out panel test for testing child protection the folding drop gate and injured.