“They are so alluring, they smell sweet and they look like gummy bears,” Sen. Brad Hoylman said. “They might as well say 'bite me' on them.”

| AP Photo/Mike Groll Lawmakers take on Tide pods with call for regulation

ALBANY — Lawmakers and consumer groups held a rally outside the state Senate on Tuesday to urge manufacturers to step up protective measures for detergent pods.

Reported poisonings connected to the viral “Tide pod challenge” have been rising — there have been 86 cases in the first three weeks of 2018, up from 53 cases in all of 2017.


State Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) and Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas (D-Queens) are pushing bills, NY S 100 (17R) and NY A 4646 (17R), that would require manufacturers to include more warnings as well as uniform, less-enticing packaging for detergent pods.

“They are so alluring, they smell sweet and they look like gummy bears,” Hoylman said. “They might as well say 'bite me' on them.”

More broadly, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, there were 10,395 reported cases of accidental ingestion in 2013. That number rose to 12,594 in 2015 before returning to 10,570 in 2017. Lawmakers argue that the figures demonstrate how ineffective companies' previous efforts to make detergent pods safer have been.

“Currently the companies that produce these pods are following voluntary industry standards,” Simotas said. “They are clearly not working. The number of poisonings since 2013 have not changed in any meaningful way.”

The group had candy dishes on display containing various types of detergent pods, and passed a sweet-smelling pod to members of the press.

“This truly is the Tide pod challenge,” Hoylman said. “The challenge is for government, for regulators and for the industry to step up and correct these dangerous devices.”

The group has sent a letter to Procter & Gamble CEO David Taylor arguing that the company's voluntary steps have failed and that it's time to revisit the issue during this legislative session. The letter invites the company to work with the legislature to come to an agreement.

“It’s no joke or passing fad that poison control centers get thousands of calls every year about laundry pods,” NYPIRG general counsel Russ Haven said. “The tide is turning and manufacturers need to clean up their marketing practices.”

According to Hoylman, Procter & Gamble had not yet responded to their request.

Procter & Gamble did not immediately respond to requests for comment from POLITICO.