Evaluation of the impact of the voluntary safety standard for liquid laundry packets on the rate of child exposures reported to Poison Control Centers in the US

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the voluntary safety standard for liquid laundry packets on the rate of child exposures reported to Poison Control Centers in the US.

Methods: The analysis was based on an interrupted time series design. The voluntary safety standard for laundry packets was published at the end of 2015. Data on reported liquid laundry packet exposures involving children under age 6 years were collected for the July 2012 through December 2017 study period. A negative binomial multiple regression model for rate data was used to quantify the impact of the voluntary standard on (1) the rate of total reported exposures and (2) the rate of reported exposures that were medically treated. The analysis controlled for laundry packet sales, time trends and seasonal variations in reported exposures.

Results: The voluntary safety standard was associated with a 28.6% reduction in the rate of total reported exposures and a 36.8% reduction in the rate of medically treated exposures. The analysis also provides some evidence that these estimated reductions may underestimate overall reductions in the rate of reported exposures if pre-standard packaging improvements and possible caregiver behavioural responses to laundry packet hazard warnings are considered.

Conclusions: The analysis suggests that the requirements of the voluntary standard have effectively reduced the rate of injury involving liquid laundry packets.

Keywords: public health; regulation; statistical issues.