Halloween health scares are overblown... mostly

Poisoned M&Ms! Drug-filled syringes stuck into Zagnut bars! Halloween is dangerous.

Fortunately, the dangers are, for the most part, imaginary.

Plenty of parents worry about health risks on Halloween, but the American Council on Science and Health wants them to chill out: "Parents should ignore fake scares, relax, and help their kids enjoy a safe and healthy Halloween," said the group's president, Dr Elizabeth Whelan, in a release.

For instance, she advises: "There's no need to be concerned about health problems being caused by flame retardants (one of the latest scares making the rounds) in ghost or goblin getups, for instance -- a greater risk would be a lack of such protection for flammable materials."

Seems like sound advice. Another good idea is to give your kids a big meal before they head out trick-or-treating. Their binge will be less grotesque later on.

Other groups have repeatedly pointed out that much of the fear that parents have about Halloween health risks is unfounded. Poisoned candies are an urban legend and although a few needles have been found in treats in the past, that kind of thing is incredibly rare and has been hyped out of all proportion.

But panicking might be therapeutic -- cathartic, perhaps -- for some parents. If you'd prefer to ignore the advice above, here's a novel, Canadian Halloween warning to panic about: Decorative contact lenses may cause permanent eye damage and vision loss, the Ottawa-based National Coalition for Vision Health warned.

Federal legislation to regulate alternative health products would have designated contact lenses as medical devices, but the bill died when Parliament dissolved last month. The coalition refers to the bill as Bill C-50, but I believe they mean Bill C-51. Bill C-50 was a budget implementation bill with a number of other initiatives, including some changes to immigration laws, and it was passed in June. The Conservative government has announced it plans to reintroduce the proposed law in the coming session, reported The Globe and Mail.

Image: Shutterstock

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