A fight to make window blinds safer for children is growing more contentious after manufacturers of the common household product have ignored demands from federal regulators to eliminate exposed cords on window blinds and shades. The manufacturers, who set standards for their own products, are adopting less-stringent rules that safety advocates say won’t reduce injuries or deaths.

“The industry is clinging to the status quo and is refusing to address this very dire safety issue,” said Rachel Weintraub, director of product safety with the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America and a member of a task force drafting the new standards. “As frustrating as it has been, it is even more tragic.”

About one child each month strangles to death on cords of a window blind or shade, according to U.S. regulators. Children can get caught in the cords that hold the blinds together or the cords that are used to pull blinds up and down.

Last summer, safety regulators in the U.S., Canada and Europe told the window covering industry to enact product standards that would eliminate strangulation hazards. Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, gave an October deadline, but the task force, which is heavily influenced by the industry, did not meet it.

Many manufacturers say it isn’t feasible to rid window blinds of accessible cords and think it is impractical to eliminate all risk for any kind of product.

In a statement, Tenenbaum said the proposed standard from the task force “poses too much risk to the safety of children.” If the standard isn’t strengthened, she said the agency could be forced to pass mandatory standards. But doing so could take years.

Safety advocates and regulators want to rid blinds of cords that children can wrap around their necks, including long operational cords used to pull blinds up and down.

More than 200 children in the U.S. have died in the last two decades from being strangled in window cord-related accidents with blinds and shades, according to the federal safety agency. The annual rate has remained steady, the commission said.

The disagreement over blinds safety standards centers on tweaks suggested by the industry that advocates and regulators say don’t eliminate the strangulation hazard.

One example is what is known as tie-down or tension devices. The pieces, which are sometimes made of plastic, fasten to the end of a looped cord that pulls blinds or shades up and down. The device is supposed to be screwed into the wall or windowsill to hold the cord taut. The blinds can then be moved up and down on a sort of pulley system.

In theory, the taut cord reduces the risk that a child can wrap it around his or her neck. But safety advocates and regulators do not think those devices are safe because they break easily and often aren’t installed correctly.

Some companies do make blinds with inaccessible cords. The blinds move when someone grasps the middle and pushes or pulls up or down. Springs and a pulley system within the product help it work. Other blinds are made so inner cords are shrouded in fabric so they can’t be pulled out by a child.

Although that technology exists for some blinds and shades, others are too large or heavy to be lifted without cords, according to the industry; in other cases, blinds on extremely tall windows can only be raised or lowered with an operational cord. Plus, the industry notes, cordless technology can add to costs.

Over the years, the window coverings industry and regulators have tried to educate parents about safety hazards, and companies have tweaked products in hopes of making them safer. In 1994, some pull cords with continuous loops were cut to eliminate the loop. Tassels were added to each cord. But the tassels can get tangled.

Regulators and the industry also have tried recalls. In 2009, millions of Roman shades were recalled after regulators got reports of five deaths and 16 near strangulations in the products over three years. Kids were getting their necks stuck between the exposed inner cord and the fabric on the back of the blind.

But recalls are not noticed by many consumers and don’t always eliminate the strangulation hazard.

In the coming months, the window covering industry will continue trying to pass the less-stringent safety standards, which are voluntary for the industry. Regulators and safety groups are often part of the process and give suggestions, but the industry usually has the final say and more input.

In rare cases, government regulators step in and require mandatory standards, which the safety commission’s Tenenbaum has said she would consider.

That process can take years, however, because regulators are required to do an extensive cost-benefit analysis of any standard. To issue mandatory safety requirements, regulators have to prove that the voluntary ones won’t cut the risk of injury or that most manufacturers aren’t following them anyway.

A mandatory standard also might not get approval from the full commission, which is down to four commissioners after the retirement of a fifth. The commissioners would be deadlocked if they voted along party lines, which they often do.

Earlier this year Sen. Dick Durbin tried to force the industry to eliminate the strangulation hazard from blinds by adding language to a pending appropriations bill that would allow regulators to establish mandatory standards.

That provision and others affecting policy were recently dropped, however, so the bill focuses only on spending.

Safety advocates who were asked to participate in the standard-setting process are upset with what they say is the industry’s refusal to make changes. Donald Mays, one of the advocates and senior director of product safety planning at Consumers Union, said he plans to ask for an audit of the entire process.

“To me it is a lot of lip service saying they are making blinds safer,” he said.

An analysis published by the National Center for Health Statistics found that opioid painkillers like morphine, hydrocodone (sold as Vicodin and other brands) and oxycodone (Percocet and other brands) were involved in more than 40 percent of drug poisonings in 2008. These drugs were implicated in more poisoning deaths than heroin or cocaine.

Opioid analgesics accounted for 14,800 of the 36,500 fatal drug poisonings in 2008. About 12,400 people died after taking other kinds of drugs, and for 25 percent of the cases where drugs were listed as a cause of death, no specific drug was mentioned.

There were considerable variations in rates of drug poisoning by age. The rate was highest among 45- to 54-year-olds, and people under 24 had the lowest rates of any group except those over age 65.

Non-Hispanic whites had higher rates of death from drugs than Hispanics, and rates among African-Americans were lower than both.

In 30 states, poisoning is the leading cause of injury death. New Mexico, West Virginia, Alaska, Nevada and Utah have the highest rates in the country.

The lead author of the study, Margaret Warner, a statistician with the federal agency, said that a multifaceted approach to solving the problem was needed, analogous to the various steps taken to improve traffic safety. Equipment improvements and law enforcement have combined to sharply reduce the rate of car crash deaths since 1980.

“The C.D.C. is doing some prevention work,” she said. “The Food and Drug Administration is looking at different regulations they can impose, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy is not just focusing on interdiction, but using a public health approach as well.”

According to the article, more than five million Americans in 2009-10 reported using pain relievers without a prescription or only for the feeling they caused.

If you own a ShoulderFlex Massager, get rid of it, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The device — which delivers a deep tissue massage to the neck, shoulders, and back while you’re lying down — was recalled last August after it killed one user and resulted in the near-strangulation of another. But the agency is concerned that the now bankrupt company, King International, didn’t do a good enough job recalling the product before it went out of business.

“King International has not followed through with recall procedures,” read the FDA press release. “The 800 number established by the firm for this recall is no longer in service; and many of the companies that sell this device are not aware of the recall or did not properly notify customers who purchased the massager.”

Hair, clothing or jewelry can become entangled in the ShoulderFlex Massager as it kneads on muscles, causing serious injury or even death from strangulation, according to the FDA. (Here are more details on the risks.)

“The ShoulderFlex Massager poses serious risks. Consumers should stop using this device, health care providers should not recommend it to their patients and businesses should stop distributing and selling the device,” said FDA compliance director Steve Silverman in a statement.

Owners of the device should dispose of it by removing the massage fingers so it can’t be used. Anyone who has been injured from the device can file a report with the FDA’s MedWatch program.

Fighting for Justice is your resource for the latest news and information about America’s civil justice system.

As the world’s largest trial bar, the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) works to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence or misconduct of others—even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations. Learn more at www.justice.org.

From the American Association for Justice news release.

The Wall Street Journal reports the advisory panel voted 8-2 stating the risks of the device outweighed its benefits to treat patients with atrial fibrillation.

Bloomberg News reports the panel “voted 10-0 that Medtronic’s so-called ablation system is effective” but “they decided 9-1 that it isn’t safe for patients who experience the heart ailment for long periods of time and need intervention.” David Steinhaus, medical director in Medtronic’s cardiac rhythm disease management division said, “‘We need to go back and decide how we can best’ address safety issues.”

Reuters reports the company enrolled 176 patients into their clinical trial. However, 5 study participants experienced a stroke within a month of treatment and 38 patients had a serious adverse event, according to the FDA.

From the American Association for Justice news release.

From the American Association of Justice press release.

Fans of Fiat spokeswoman Jennifer Lopez can rest easier now — the object of their affection is cruising the streets in the Fiat ads in a Top Safety Pick.

The little 2012 Fiat 500 answered one of the questions always asked about minicars (But is it safe?) by earning coveted Top Safety Pick status in the minicar category in the battery of tests done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the insurance industry’s research group.

The only other minicar that has earned Top Safety Pick status to date is the 2011-12 Ford Fiesta.

To earn the IIHS award, a vehicle must score the top rating of Good for occupant protection in front-offset, side, rear and rollover crash tests, plus have an electronic stability system (now standard on all 2012 models).

The Fiat 500 crash-test dummy’s neck and chest showed a low risk of injury through the testing.

The dummy, showed a potential pelvis fracture in the side-impact crash test in which the vehicle is struck in the side by a barrier moving at 31 mph — the barrier represents the front end of a pickup or SUV.

In the IIHS’ roof-strength test, which requires the vehicle’s roof to withstand the force of four times the vehicle’s weight, the sturdy little 500 withstood an impressive 6.16 times its weight.

Buyer alert: Top Safety Pick status applies only to 500s built since July, according to IIHS. Models built earlier had weaker seat structures that could cause more harm to front passengers. You can check when a vehicle was built on a label affixed to the driver-side door jamb.

And as Drive On always reminds you: A Top Safety Pick offers the top protection in the vehicle class, however small, but the laws of physics still apply if you take on, say, a Suburban.

MedPage Today reports that the AAP recommendations, published in the November issue of Pediatrics, “go beyond [sudden infant death syndrome] SIDS and focus on providing a safe sleeping environment for infants to reduce the risk of all sleep-related deaths.” The group “also recommends avoidance of any commercial devices purported to prevent SIDS.” The guidelines say that “breastfeeding and immunization protect babies against” SIDS.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the guidelines recommend infants be offered pacifiers because their use has been shown to reduce SIDS risk. Another suggestion is having the baby sleep in the same room, but not the same bed, as the parents.

The “Shots” blog of NPR reports Rachel Moon, chairwoman of the AAP Task Force on SIDS, said that “the only thing that should be in the crib is the mattress with a tightly fitting sheet and the baby.” This story is also covered by the Los Angeles Times, the “Daily Dose” blog of the Boston Globe, WebMD, the website of CBS News, and Reuters.

From the American Association of Justice press release.

NHTSA said in a notice posted on its website Saturday it is probing 36,000 models sold in the United States after receiving 12 complaints, including 5 alleged fires resulting in a total vehicle loss.

The investigation covers the Mini Cooper S, the Mini Cooper S convertible and the 2008 Clubman edition.

Eight complaints said fires occurred while the vehicles were parked with the ignition off. The complaints show an apparent increasing trend with most complaints received within the past year, NHTSA said.

NHTSA has reviewed field reports submitted as part of its Early Warning Reporting data. A preliminary evaluation has been opened to assess the cause, scope and frequency of the alleged defect by the agency.

NHTSA said no injuries or crashes have been reported as a result of the fires.