Consumer Product Safety
Consumer product safety became an animating political force on the national level during the 1960s. In 1972, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was created to regulate and, if necessary, recall and ban products deemed unsafe for the public. Many consumables are not covered by this agency, because other federal agencies already have jurisdiction over such dangerous products as cars, alcohol, guns, and pesticides. One of the CPSC’s major accomplishments was the ban on lead paint in 1977.
Commentary
Cry Wolf Quotes
It is unreasonable to assume that existing bureaucratic lassitude will be corrected by establishing another layer of bureaucracy.
Are you aware than the Consumer Product Safety Commission is capable of ruining a business through a mere editorial oversight—and it has.
Class actions constitute a grave economic hazard to business—and the magnitude of the threat is likely to be in inverse relationship to the size of the business. Indeed, the effects on small businesses would be particularly catastrophic if not fatal.
With respect to cigarettes, cautionary labeling cannot be anticipated to serve the public interest with any particular degree of success. The health hazards of excessive smoking have been well-publicized for more than ten years and are common knowledge…
Related Laws and Rules
Backgrounders & Briefs
Good Rules: Ten Stories Of Successful Regulation
Demos looks at ten laws and rules that we take for granted.
Resources
Consumer Federation of America defends the consumer interest in fields ranging from housing and financial services to food safety.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is the agency that oversees auto and highway safety regulations, auto recalls, and CAFE standards.
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is an alliance of consumer, health and safety groups and insurance companies and agents working together to make America's roads safer.