Quick Links: Skip to main page content Skip to Search Skip to Topics Menu Skip to Section Content Menu Skip to Common Links
  • Decrease font size
  • Return font size to normal
  • Increase font size
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

About FDA

  • Print
  • Share
  • E-mail
-

This Week In FDA History - Nov. 3, 1966

Photo with caption
 
© 1981 Field Newspaper Syndicate a Division of Field Enterprises, Inc.
  Dennis the Menace is featured in a 1981 brochure aimed at helping children avoid poisons in the home, distributed by the FDA and the National Clearinghouse for Poison Control Centers.
November 3, 1966:
The Child Protection Act is passed. The bill enlarges the scope of the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act, granting more authority to ban hazardous products used by children.

FDA in 2006
The FDA maintained oversight of hazardous consumer products until this authority was passed to the new Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1972. Until that time, the FDA was responsible for monitoring the marketplace for dangerous products, including toys and other items used by children. If a product was deemed too hazardous for adequate warning labels to be written, the agency had the authority to ban the product. The FDA takes action to
protect children from risks of the products it continues to regulate, including drugs, foods, and medical devices. For instance, because of concerns about poisoning associated with iron supplements, the FDA has required manufacturers to market these pills in individual-dose packaging. The FDA also educates the public about child safety and proper use of regulated products in children with messages such as the brochure on poison prevention in the home.
-
-