Consumer group unveils '10 worst toys' list

BOSTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) -- Bart Simpson's slingshot, Sesame Street's checkup Ernie and a mock military bazooka made the annual "10 worst toys" list unveiled Thursday by a Boston consumer safety group.

The 29th annual list compiled by the group World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) was intended to warn parents against toys that could be dangerous to their children.

Ed Swartz, WATCH's founder and a product liability lawyer for plaintiffs, said despite warnings from previous toy lists, toy makers continued to introduce products with potential hazards.

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WATCH's list of '10 worst toys'

Pamela Johnston, a spokeswoman for the Toy Manufacturers of America Inc., said Swartz's annual list is a vehicle for drumming up business against the toy industry. She said, however, that the industry group would review the WATCH toy list and check for potential hazards.

There were an estimated 152,600 toy-related injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms and 16 toy-related deaths last year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Sesame Street's medical checkup Ernie, made by Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price unit, comes with a tongue depressor that could become lodged in a child's throat, WATCH said.

The group warned that the mock military bazooka made by privately held 200 Toys Inc. of Milford, Massachusetts, makes four simulated bazooka sounds that could cause hearing loss in children if used too close to the ear.

Dr. Tony Dodek, head of pediatrics at Boston's Franciscan Children's Hospital, said children choking on small toy pieces is the most common injury he sees.

"There's a catch point above the vocal chords," Dodek said. "Once something gets lodged there, brain injury can result from lack of oxygen."

WATCH said the slingshot that comes with the Simpsons' Bart action set, made by privately held Manley Toy Quest of Los Angeles, fires plastic balls that could cause serious eye injuries.

"This is a weapon," WATCH director James Swartz said, adding that it is illegal for slingshots to be sold in Massachusetts and several other states.

David Miller, president of Toy Manufacturers of America Inc., said in a statement that U.S. toy makers adhere to the "strictest standards in the world."

Miller recently called on WATCH to share its information on a more timely basis and to work more closely with U.S. consumer agencies and toy makers.

WATCH said the "classic horror psycho saw," which features fake blood on the blade, invites children as young as 5 years old to push a button for a "bone-splitting chain saw sound." The Paper Magic Group Inc., part of CSS Industries Inc., makes the toy.

"This gruesome weapon is made of heavy, rigid plastic with the potential for causing blunt trauma injuries," WATCH said.

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