I had completely forgotten about Jarts until reading a recent editorial by Athos Bousvaros (J Pediatr 2017; 186: 6-7). He succinctly describes how these lawn darts were ultimately removed from the market primarily due to the advocacy of a father who became a strong advocate after the death of his daughter.

A more complete description of the effort to remove Jarts -from Mental Floss website: How One Grieving Father Got Lawn Darts Banned

Dr. Bousvaros, in commentary on a study on high-powered (neodymium) magnets (Rosenfeld D et al. J Pediatr 2017; 186: 78-81) describes the similarities between these magnets and the jarts.  Both have caused catastrophic injuries and death.  However, the recent removal of these magnets from the market was overturned.  There is no national tracking system for magnet ingestions in U.S. or Canada.  However, the referenced study demonstrated a dramatic reduction  in medical/surgical procedures in 2014-2015 (n=10) when a ban was placed compared to 2011-2012 (n=29).

For U.S physicians, all we can do currently is to report to the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) all magnet-related injuries and to publicize the dangers of these hazardous products.  To report: go to CPSC website (link: CPSC website) and “report an unsafe product” on the right side of the page.

Related blog posts:

• NASPGHAN Statement on High-Powered Magnet Court Ruling
• Magnet ingestion -urgent removal needed | gutsandgrowth
• More on magnet ingestions | gutsandgrowth
• “Fatal attraction” | gutsandgrowth
• Button Battery Algorithm Link
• Magnetic Foreign Bodies –Still a Problem