Another opportunity for New York to tax an item. Update to this story.
Two New York lawmakers want Procter & Gamble, the maker of Tide Pods, to redesign the laundry detergent tablets to make them look less appetizing to children.
They also want legislation requiring stricter packaging standards for the laundry detergent in New York, including a requirement that packets are not “easily permeated by a child’s bite.”
Rep. Aravella Simotas (D-Queens) and Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) and consumer advocates are worried about the viral “Tide Pod Challenge,” the social media fad where people are biting into and even ingesting the tablets.
They sent a letter to P&G on Tuesday asking that packaging be redesigned to include clear warning labels, child-resistant wrappers and to make the pods look less tasty, according to The New York Daily News.
The plump little pods are tri-colored with swirls of white, orange and purple. The lawmakers want them to be more uniform in color.
Toxic substances should not be packaged to look like candy or toys which could lure children to eat them, said Simotas.
“They’re squishy, they smell sweet and they look like gummy bears,” Hoylman said, according to The Associated Press.
The two legislators say the pods are a risk to young children and adults with dementia who might mistake them for food. Simotas, who told reporters she uses them, said she once had to snatch one away from her young daughter.[…]
In a statement, P&G said “there is nothing new in these legislative proposals” from the New York lawmakers.
The Cincinnati-based company said its packaging is already child-resistant, and that poison control center data has proved that “color does not play a critical role in a child’s accidental exposure to laundry pacs.”
In 2015 the company coated the pods with a bitter-tasting substance to discourage biting, Fortune reported.
In response to the “Tide Pod Challenge,” P&G posted warnings and the phone number for the Poison Control Center on its Twitter account, @tide. It’s also worked with both YouTube and Facebook to take down “Tide Pod Challenge” posts.