The State Government has banned the manufacture, sale and possession of laser pointers

3/1/00

The State Government has banned the manufacture, sale and possession of dangerous laser pointers, following three reported injuries among children in the last six months.
Health Minister John Day said the laser pointers - commonly used as aids in lecture presentations - had become popular among children as toys, greatly increasing the risk of eye injury due to misuse.
"Laser pointers are cheap, and in recent years they have been sold as toys or novelty items such as key rings and in the shape of lipsticks," Mr Day said.
"Tests conducted by the Health Department's Radiation Health Section show many laser pointers widely available have output power that greatly exceeds safe limits.
"Apart from possible permanent eye injury, laser pointers can cause temporary blindness and create hazards for people driving motor vehicles or playing sports.
"By banning these items now, we will avoid even more serious incidents than already reported."
Mr Day said that some weak laser pointers did not pose a significant health risk, and were not included in the ban which was effective immediately.
He said the ban applied to laser pointers that were not clearly labelled as Class 1 or Class 2, as prescribed by Australian Standard AS2211-1991.
However, possession of illegal laser pointers would not be an offence until June 1, 2000.
"This will provide reasonable time for retailers and consumers to dispose of illegal laser pointers," he said.
"Any person who has an illegal laser pointer should remove the battery, crush the device to prevent further use, and dispose of it in the household rubbish."
Media contact: Mark Thompson 9213 6600