The statistics make grim reading.

Between 2011 and 2021 in the United States, there were at least 27 deaths and an estimated 54,300 injuries treated in emergency rooms resulting from button cell or coin batteries being ingested or inserted, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Children are typically the victims.

Now, the CPSC has approved a new mandatory standard aimed at reducing button cell and coin battery ingestion threats to children ages 6 and younger. Promotional products companies that sell such products will have to comply with the rules or risk running afoul of federal regulators.

Recognizing that product providers may need to improve the safety of their items and that there will be limited ability to test as the new mandate requires, the CPSC is providing a 180-day period of enforcement discretion.

Still, promo companies that sell impacted products, which can include things like games, tea light candles, watches, calculators, flashing jewelry, decorations/ornaments, keyless entry remotes, wireless game controllers and more, should start working toward compliance immediately.

“Legislation has now come into effect that will dramatically affect how promo companies sell products that contain button or coin batteries,” said Nigel Harris, CEO of PowerStick (asi/51566), a supplier with a diverse portfolio of products that includes audio items, Bluetooth trackers, chargers and phone accessories.

The Mandate

The CPSC’s ANSI/UL 4200A-2023 Standard mandates that products containing button cell or coin batteries must require the use of a tool such as a screwdriver or coin to open the battery compartment – or the application of at least two independent and simultaneous movements to open by hand.

In addition, such products must pass a series of performance tests simulating reasonably foreseeable use or misuse. The CPSC standard also includes labeling requirements for consumer products containing button cell or coin batteries, and labeling requirements for consumer product packaging.

“No longer will it be possible for products containing these batteries to be sold without labels warning of the dangers of ingestion,” said Harris. “The packaging will also require strengthening to make it harder for children to access these items. Furthermore, selling a product without the battery will not exempt a supplier/distributor from this legislation.”

The CPSC noted that the requirements do not apply to toy products for children under 14 if the products comply with the Toy Standard.

Reese’s Law

The CPSC mandate comes about a year after President Joe Biden signed Reese’s Law. It required the CPSC to implement federal safety standards on button cell and coin batteries, including requiring warning labels that clearly identify the hazard of ingestion and that instruct consumers to keep new and used batteries out of the reach of children, as well as to seek immediate medical attention if a battery is ingested.

Relatedly, the law dictates that any button cell or coin battery offered for sale, manufactured for sale, imported into the U.S., or included separately with a consumer product meet the child-resistant packaging requirements in the Poison Prevention Packaging Standards after Feb. 12, 2023. These packaging requirements do not apply to button cell or coin batteries manufactured or imported on or before Feb. 12, 2023.

Reese’s Law is named in honor of Reese Hamsmith, an 18-month-old child who died after ingesting a button cell battery from a remote control. If swallowed, the small batteries can burn through a child’s throat or esophagus in as little as two hours.

“Reese’s life was taken way too soon, but her legacy will live on through this law so that no other family will have to suffer like ours,” Reese’s mother, Trista Hamsmith, who led the charge for improved safety standards, said when Biden signed Reese’s Law. “We are thankful for the passage of this legislation to help protect all children and families from the hidden dangers of button batteries.”

“I am pleased that the CPSC is issuing final rules implementing Reese’s Law,” said Alexander Hoehn-Saric, chair of the CPSC. “We’ve made a determination that the newly updated UL standard for battery enclosures on consumer products meets the requirements of the law. … Reese’s Law and the commission’s action make strong safety requirements for battery enclosures on consumer products the law of the land.”