Not all child car seats provide adequate protection
The Consumer Council has expressed concern over the safety performance of child car seats (or Child Restraint Systems CRS).
Such inadequacy in the design of child car seats could put the safety of the child passenger at risk of bodily injuries particularly to the head and chest, in the event of a crash.
Despite the shortcomings, parents are reminded that the use of CRS will offer a far better degree of protection than using a loose adult seat belt or not using any restraint device at all.
Included in the 17 test samples, available in Hong Kong with prices ranging from $500 to $2,500, were 8 rearward-facing seats, 4 forward-facing seats and 5 suitable for both rearwardand forward mounting.
In the front impact test, 4 of thesamples were considered unable to provide enough protection due mainly toincreased risk of shocks to the head and/or chest; while in the side impacttest, improvement to the safety performance of a number of samples was alsocalled for.
The test revealed that while CRS should in general be comfortable to a child of suitable weight, however, 6 samples claiming suitable for weight up to 13kg were in fact too small for babyweighing more than 9kg. The baby's head or legs were found to be not properly retained.
Parents are therefore advised to observe the growing size of their children and to provide the necessary carseats of suitable size.
The report also warned that a few of the rearward-facing child seats were not provided with airbag warning: the baby could be injured seriously or even die in a rearward-facing child seat mounted in a front passenger seat fitted with an airbag which could inflate so violently in the event of an accident.
Further, the report noted the potential difficulty of mounting a child car seat correctly and in particular the routing of the seat belt is often unclear. Parents should familiarize themselves with the instructions for the proper mounting method and the safe position to install.
If a seat is incorrectly fitted,due perhaps to unclear instructions in the users' manual, the seat could be rendered potentially unsafe. Consult the agent or dealer when in doubt.
The test has clearly pointed to the need for more stringent safety requirements on CRS. The existing requirements, which do not include side impact crash test, should be reviewed.
Council takes issue with prevalent practice of oversized product packaging
The Consumer Council has found the practice of oversized packaging for certain types of goods to be prevalent.
Such practice is undesirable as it is wasteful and environmentally unsound. Also, consumers might not be aware that the actual quantity of contents is sometimes much smaller than what the packaging suggests.
In a recent survey, the Council has found that out of 19 samples - comprising vitamin supplements (3), hair wax (3), skin lotion/cream (7) and eye cosmetics (6) - 16 samples (84%) were detected to contain quantities less than 50% of the total package size.
The survey computed the ratios of (a) actual volume to internal volume, and (b) actual volume to external volume for the samples, and the key findings are:
- for vitamin supplements, the ratios of actual to internal volume ranged from 13%, the lowest, to 36%, the highest, and the ratios of actual to external volume from 12% to 32%;
- for hair wax, the ratios were 99% to 100%, and 61% to 69% respectively;
- the ratios for skin lotion 56% to 100%, and 21% to 36%; and
- the ratios for eye cosmetics 43% to 100%, and 7% to 24%; the substantially lower ratios of actual volume to external volume reflected the size of the containers and empty space of the packages.
Summing up, the actual contents of 4 out of the 19 samples were less than half full when measured against the internal volume of the containers.
The ratios were reduced substantially when the external volume of the containers was taken into account.
As many as 16 out of the 19 samples were found to contain quantities less than 50% of the total volume. As part of the survey, a simulated shopping task was conducted to study consumers' perception of packaging. 56 respondents were asked to judge the quantities of the sample products without picking them up and their quantity indications concealed.
The results clearly show that consumers are unable to accurately judge the contents by relying solely on visual impression of the external packages. Consumers habitually assume that the physical size of the package is a guide to how much it contains.
- In the case of the same quantities contained in 4 different shaped bottles of bathing products, 95% of the respondents perceived there to be a difference when, in fact, there was none; and, further, 27% perceived the product of the largest size in appearance to contain the most quantity.
- And in the case of a similar trial for skin lotion, 86% of the respondents perceived again erroneously a difference, and 43% perceived the largest sized container to give the most quantity.
Consumers are therefore strongly urged to always consult the quantity indications on the labelling of the purchased products.
Out of environmental concerns, the use of recycled materials in packaging and the recydability of packaging is encouraged for the packaging industry.
Caution on pointed-toe high-heel shoes
Pointed-toe shoes are back invogue. But crowding your toes and forcing them into an ill-fitted unnatural triangular shape could be highly damaging.
The Consumer Council has sounded a note of caution that the prolonged and repeated wearing of ill-fitting pointed shoes could result in the permanent disfiguration of the feet such as painful hallux valgus and hammertoes.
In a recent survey of the HongKong Podiatrists Association with some 1900 respondents, it was reported that36% of respondents suffered from corns and calluses. And 9% reported difficultyin finding shoes that fit properly.
The American Orthopadic Foot and Ankle Society has also expressed concern over the potential harm caused by wearing high-heeled shoes with pointed and narrow toe box.
According to the Society, these shoes distribute the body weight unevenly placing excess stress on the ball of the foot and the forefoot. It warned that this uneven distribution of weight, coupled with narrow toe box, can lead to discomfort, painful hallux valgus and hammer toes, and other deformities.
The Council is also concerned about pointed-toe slip-ons some of which, though convenient to wear, may be too loose around the heels and could create even more problems.
If the toe and foot muscles have to grab on to the shoe to keep it in place, with prolonged and repeated use, it may tighten the calf muscle and increase the strains on the heels, causing inflammation of the tissue along the bottom of the foot.
Another disadvantage of slip-ons is that they may be easily slipped off, and are not suitable for driving, taking public transport which requires climbing stairs, and outdoor work.
Habitual users of pointed-toe shoes are advised to choose only those shoes that are well designed and proper fitting, with heels that are not too high, to minimise the potential risks. Feet should not be forced to conform to the shape of the shoes. It should be the other way round.
Younger people may be less vulnerable to ill-fitting shoes with corns and calluses usually the more common problems with their feet. But as they reach middle or old age, the accumulative effect of daily repetitive minor injuries may eventually develop into serious foot disorders.
Good-fitting footwear is especially important to people with medical condition such as diabetes and those who are genetically prone to hallux valgus.
Heightening consumer awareness on LASER cosmetic treatments
Beauty conscious consumers are advised to be wary of LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission ofRadiation) treatments for cosmetic purposes.
The advice follows a survey of the University of Hong Kong which indicates low level of consumer awareness of the dangers associated with the use of LASER devices for cosmetic purposes.
To heighten consumer awareness, the Consumer Council has published in this August issue of CHOICE a comprehensive report on LASER and its application for beauty treatments particularly hair removal.
The report noted that in some western countries, regulations have been introduced to prevent the use of LASER by non-medical personnel.
There is, however, no similar regulation in Hong Kong and as such the use of LASER devices by non-medical personnel in beauty salons is common and not under any statutory control.
The Consumer Council believes that the Government should review the current practices in this area to safeguard the health and safety of consumers. In the absence of regulation, consumers seeking LASER beauty treatments will continue to run the risk of suffering theconsequences of misuse of high-energy LASER.
In the case of LASER hair removal, the LASER devices used are usually of a high output which could lead to significant tissue damage in the event of misuse.
The energy used for LASER procedure should be determined by skin reaction but non-medical personnel often use a fixed energy resulting in under-treatment or giving rise to complications which include skin blister, redness, hyper pigmentation or hypo pigmentation.
In the last two years the Council received 7 consumer complaints on LASER treatment in beauty salons. In the first half of this year, the number has risen to already 6 cases including 3 related to LASER hair removal.
Survey reveals consumers' inaction over privacy protection in e-shopping
Online shoppers are urged to pay more attention to the issue of privacy protection, a vital consumer safeguard in e-shopping.
According to the latest survey of the Consumer Council on e-shopping, only 11.7% of e-shoppers read carefully the privacy policy related to the company before their purchase orders. The percentage was lower than those for other vital information items.
Nonetheless, personal privacy protection topped a list of other areas of concern - at 46.3% followed by security of data transmission (39.4%), quality of products (36.7%), price/discount (34.6%), company reputation (34%), convenience of delivery (30.9%).
The reasons put up for not consulting the privacy policy statement varied: some thought such information was unimportant (25.9%), some felt confident about the site (21.3%), some simply could not find the privacy policy (16.7%).
In view of the findings, the Consumer Council suggested that the privacy policy and other important information should be prominently located to enable easy access. Consumers must take the initiative to look for such information to protect their interests.
Further, sites using personal data for marketing purposes should give users the option of choice whether or not they wish their details to be used or passed on.
In the same survey it was found that 7.3% of internet users have participated in internet auctions. The most common products for such auctions include video and audio equipment (18.8%), computers and PDAs (17.6%), telecommunications products (17.6%).
About 70% were unable to bid the items they wished, and for those who bided successfully 69% of them considered the auctioned items to be of value-for-money.
Consumer complaints related to internet shopping totalled 53 cases last year. There were 27 cases for the first seven months of this year.