Weapon-simulated toys sold rampant
Near the Mid-Autumn Festival, the demand for buying children's toys on streets such as Hang Ma, Hang Luoc (Hoan Kiem ward, Hanoi) is starting to increase. Besides products with clear origins, many cheap toys, violent toys such as plastic guns, plastic swords, darts... are also sold with diverse designs.
In the role of someone who needs to import a large quantity of toys as gifts, we came to a store on Hang Ma street. Here, toys for children from 3 years old and older are sold quite diversely, from cars, jigsaw puzzles, guns to handheld lights. Notably, on the packaging of some products, foreign characters mainly appear, without complete information about labels, production units or origin.
When asked about toy guns for children aged 6-7, the seller quickly moved to the warehouse area near the store and took out two types of guns to introduce. "This gun is 350,000 VND per gun, this type of gun has 2 types of ammunition: styrofoam bullets and meteorite bullets. There are 2 modes, 1 is machine fire - continuous fire, 2 is machine fire - 1 bullet fired each time, can be charged with a separate charger" - the seller introduced.
When asked if it is dangerous for 6-year-olds to use these types of guns, the seller said: "No impact, safe, play comfortably" because they are just styrofoam and jelly bullets, many children still buy them to play". Regarding the origin of the product, the store owner said that all toys here are imported from China.
Similarly, reporters continued to record at another store on Hang Ma street, the seller said that the closer to the Mid-Autumn Festival, the more diverse the amount of imported toys becomes. Among them, guns and darts are items that customers seek to buy quite a lot.
These darts are bought by children to shoot high, with bright lights, children 5-6 years old can also use them. Guns have steam guns for young children, children older than 7-8 years old can play with grenade guns, plastic bullets" - the seller said.
According to the seller, toys are divided into many price levels. Cheap products often have thinner materials, durable lights and shorter shelf life. "Going all over this street, they are all Chinese goods because only goods there have beautiful and diverse designs" - the seller said.
In addition to guns and darts, we also recorded some types of multi-colored ecstasy pills sold for only 5,000-10,000 VND/pack. According to the seller, just soaking a package in water can create a vase of ecstasy pills with many eye-catching colors. However, the seller also advised not to give this product to young children. According to the explanation, ecstasy pills can fade and there is a risk of color stains on the skin during play.
And concerns about quality and safety
The fact that many cheap toys that do not fully show information about their origin and origin are publicly sold on the streets during the Mid-Autumn Festival period raises concerns about quality and safety, especially for young children.
In fact, in August, the Pediatric Otorrinolaryngology Department, Central Otorrinolaryngology Hospital received a 6-year-old child. While playing with his older brother, the older brother unfortunately used an iron pellet gun to shoot him in the right eye.
The ball does not stop at the eye socket but goes deep into the moth sinus - a sinus located in a very deep position, close to many important structures such as the optic nerve, internal carotid artery and skull base.
According to MSc.BSNT Bien Van Hoan, the doctor who directly examined and operated on the patient, just a few millimeters of deviation in the path of the pellet, the consequence may be permanent vision loss, severe bleeding or dangerous intracranial complications.
Parents should not let children use toys in the form of rubber guns, air guns, homemade guns or toys with strong firepower. These toys, if unfortunately causing accidents, can harm the health of children and those around them. When there is an unfortunate problem, it is necessary to go to the nearest medical facility immediately for examination" - the doctor recommends.
