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DOH exec eyes ban on children from buying watusi firecracker


After noting that many children were again victimized by firecrackers this year, the Health Department is eyeing having the Department of Trade and Industry impose an absolute ban on children from buying fireworks, including "watusi." Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, program manager for merging and re-emerging infectious diseases, said Tuesday the ban may help limit children's access to potentially harmful firecrackers. "One of the ways we are studying is for the DTI or other concerned agencies to prevent children from buying fireworks, even watusi," Lee Suy said in Filipino in an interview aired on dzBB. Lee Suy noted it is important that children be kept away from firecrackers, adding that some [desperate] grownups could even use them for suicide. Only last weekend, the Health Department recorded an incident where a 44-year-old woman swallowed powder from piccolo firecracker as she tried to commit suicide. Citing reports reaching him, Lee Suy said small children tend to put the firecrackers in their mouths while playing with these materials. Lee Suy also admitted enforcing an age limit on stores selling fireworks would be futile, saying a similar age limit for cigarettes never worked. The age limit for cigarettes had sought to bar minors from buying cigarettes. "Aminin natin kahit pag sigrailyo ilagyan ng age limit di nasusunod (We have to admit that an age limit imposed on the purchase of cigarettes was not followed)," he said. — LBG, GMANews.TV

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