Laser pen campaigns target teenagers

17 Jun 2002

Both Germany and the US are considering targeting teenagers with publicity campaigns about the safe uses and hazards of laser pens.

Wolfgang Woellmer, of the University ENT Cling in Hamburg, Germany, told ILSC 99 that many companies had withdrawn cheap and powerful novelty pointers from sale in his country. The number of incidents involving pens has now fallen but many people still own one of the devices.

In Hamburg, an average of two people a month complain of eye injuries caused by the pens.

The German standards working group "Lasers in Medicine" has now published a statement in plain language about laser pens for distribution to schools.

Some 90% of the pens are made in Taiwan and, it is claimed, are the second largest market for visible laser diodes. In the US, where novelty laser pens remain widely on sale, the Food and Drug Administration has ordered 38 out of more than 60 known suppliers in the Far East to prove that their pens comply with safety regulations.