Make Your Holidays Safer by Checking This Twice
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is urging Americans to take greater care this holiday season.
Each year about 1,300 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to holiday lights and trimming. Christmas trees cause about 500 fires annually, resulting in about $20 million in property damage, the commission says. In addition, the commission received 21 reports of deaths and more than 150,000 reports of toy-related injuries last year.
Tragically, most of the deaths and injuries were easily avoidable, commission Chairwoman Ann Brown said.
What can you do to be toy- and tree-safe?
* When selecting toys, be sure to consider any choking hazards if there are children in the recipient’s household who are at that age when they put everything in their mouths.
* Avoid toys with sharp edges, points or electric heating elements for children under age 8.
* Look for sturdy construction in toys that include small parts--including stuffed animals that may have glued-on facial features.
* If you buy an artificial tree, look for a “fire resistant” notation on the label. This doesn’t mean the tree won’t burn, but it should resist fire and be easier to extinguish.
* When buying live trees, buy fresh. Make sure the needles bend rather than break, and that they don’t fall off in large quantities when the tree is shaken.
* Don’t place trees, paper packages or other flammable items near fireplaces, radiators or in front of halls or doorways.
* Check lighting for frayed and bare wires and broken or cracked sockets. Discard damaged sets.
* Never use electric lights on a metallic tree. The tree can become charged with electricity from faulty lights and electrocute someone who touches it.
* Use care with so-called fire salts, particularly around children. These products, which produce colored flames when thrown on a wood fire, contain heavy metals that can cause intense intestinal irritation and vomiting if eaten.
Each year, the commission inspects retailers and distributors of
holiday decorations to identify and recall hazardous items. To hear up-to-date recall information or to report dangerous products, call (800) 638-2772.
* Mutual Fund Guide: Are you thinking about investing with a mutual fund but need a little basic information to get started? Or do you already have mutual fund shares but would like to know more about how a few key changes in the industry could affect your total return?
Jim Jorgensen, publisher of a financial newsletter called It’s Your Money, is offering a free booklet to help explain the types of funds available and how so-called load funds--those that charge upfront fees--are disguising some of their costs, often to the disadvantage of long-term investors. To get a copy, call (800) 901-7620.
* December Tax Deadlines: Individuals may think the bulk of their 1996 tax deadlines hit in spring, but if they employ any sophisticated investment strategies, such as short selling or option trading, they have a few deadlines to meet in December too, said Marilyn Freedman, vice president at Prudential Securities.
For instance, closing a short position takes three business days because of certain legal requirements, she noted. Therefore, if you want to lock in a gain or loss for 1996 with a short position, your last day to trade is Dec. 26. If you want to close an option position, you need to do it by Dec. 30, Freedman said. And even though mutual fund sales can officially go up to the final day of 1996, some fund companies don’t post buy or sell orders that come in late in the day until the following business day. If you’re planning to sell on the last day of the year, make sure to ask your fund company if it has a cutoff time for daily trades.
Want more information about investments and taxes? Prudential is offering a booklet, “Tax Planning Guide 1996/97,” free to those who call the company’s Century City office at (310) 552-5600.
Consumer Checklist is a weekly feature that covers a range of pocketbook issues of interest to Californians. To contribute information about new legislation, products, services or surveys, write to Kathy M. Kristof, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053; or e-mail kathy.kristof@latimes.com
