Recalls in December 1999

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27, 1999 -- Burger King Corporation is recalling more than 25 million Pokemon balls included with Burger King kids meals following the death of a 13-month-old.

Burger King and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said the balls may pose a suffocation hazard to children under three years of age. The ball-shaped plastic containers are used to hold Pokemon toys in Burger King kids' meals. Either half of the Pokemon ball can become stuck on a childs face, covering the nose and mouth and may cause suffocation of a child under three years of age.

Incidents already reported include the death of a 13-month-old girl and a near-tragedy involving an 18-month-old girl.

The CPSC said the 18-month-old reportedly got half the Pokemon ball stuck over her face. Her father managed to pull the ball free on his second attempt.

The Pokemon balls are plastic ball-shaped containers between 2 and 3 in diameter. They pull apart to reveal one of 57 different Pokemon toys inside. The balls were distributed in a variety of colors including red and white, and hot pink. Packaging described them as safety tested and recommended for all ages of children.

Burger King restaurants nationwide distributed the Pokemon balls inside Burger King Kids Club Meals and regular kids meals from early November through December, 1999.

Consumers should immediately take the balls away from children under the age of three. They should discard the ball or return both halves of the ball to a Burger King restaurant for a free small order of french fries. Consumers may continue to use the Pokemon toy that came inside the ball.

Burger King restaurants will continue to distribute the Pokemon toys in balls with Burger King Big Kids Meals, but the Pokemon balls will no longer be included with the toy in the regular "kids club" meals, generally intended for younger children. Consumers should not allow younger children under the age of three to play with these balls.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 23

-- In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), American Hua Mao Enterprises, of New York, N.Y., is recalling about 139,000 cigarette lighters. These cigarette lighters, which operate with push-button electronic ignition mechanisms to produce the flame, have child-resistant mechanisms that do not work. Young children could ignite the lighters. CPSC and American Hua Mao Enterprises are not aware of any injuries involving these lighters. This recall is being conducted to prevent the possibility of injuries. These lighters are refillable, gas fueled piezoelectric catalytic lighter and are equipped with a non-functioning child resistant feature, a lever that slides horizontally under the ignition mechanism. Once the lever under the ignition switch is moved over to allow ignition, it stays in that position until manually reset. The lighters are advertised as Windproof #L2 and #L3 models. The #L2 are two-colored, ceramic-coated metal, oval-shaped lighters with round edges. The #L3 are copper-colored and have a horse molded on the body of the lighter. Both models were sold in black leather-like cases with the model number imprinted on it. They have a stick-on-label reading "MADE IN CHINA." Small retail stores and souvenir shops in New York and Maryland sold these lighters from March 1997 through November 1998 for about $4 to $6. Consumers should immediately stop using these cigarette lighters and return them to the store where they were purchased for a refund. For more information, call American Hua Mao Enterprises at (212) 244-1692 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday. Consumers outside the New York City area can call collect. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury and for information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information or report product hazards to info@cpsc.gov.