Anchor It!: CPSC Launches Nation's Largest Campaign to Prevent Furniture and TV Tip-Over Deaths and Injuries

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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Jun 04, 2015, 09:45 ET

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today launches "Anchor It!" – a national public education campaign to prevent furniture and TV tip-overs from killing and seriously injuring children. This is one of the top hidden hazards in the home, and CPSC's new safety campaign is aimed at reducing the number of deaths and injuries from tipping furniture and TVs.

According to CPSC data, unstable and unsecured TVs and large pieces of furniture kill a child every two weeks, on average, in tip-over incidents that are easily preventable. CPSC also reported that 38,000 Americans go to emergency rooms each year with injuries related to tip-overs of top-heavy furniture or televisions placed on furniture, instead of a TV stand. Two-thirds of those injuries involved children younger than 5. Additionally, between 2000 and 2013, 84 percent of the 430 deaths reported to CPSC involved children younger than 10.

A January 2015 CPSC report found that a television tipping over from an average size dresser falls with thousands of pounds of force. The impact of a falling TV is like being caught between two NFL linemen colliding at full-speed—10 times.

"Every 24 minutes in the U.S. a child goes to the emergency room because of a tip-over incident involving furniture or a TV," said CPSC Commissioners Marietta Robinson and Joseph Mohorovic. "We must take action now. CPSC's new 'Anchor It!' campaign is a call to action for parents and caregivers to 'get on top of it, before they do.' If we can prevent one more death, it will be worth it."

The "Anchor It!" outreach campaign includes broadcast public service announcements (PSAs), print PSAs, and an informational site (www.AnchorIt.gov). The site outlines the dangers of tip-overs and explains how easy it is to anchor furniture and TVs properly. The PSAs, which can be viewed on AnchorIt.gov, show a hazard in the home that is unknown to most parents, yet has a simple solution. Outdoor billboard PSAs for buses and subway trains will supplement the television PSAs.

Foundations, organizations, and companies will collaborate with CPSC and serve as "Anchor It! Advocates," to deliver safety messages to their communities and participate in earned and social media efforts. In addition, HGTV star Tiffany Brooks, an interior designer, wife, mother and HGTV host, will serve as an Anchor It! campaign spokesperson, along with CPSC Commissioners Robinson and Mohorovic.

Cards and posters providing tips and describing the hidden dangers of tip-overs, as well as the simple steps to eliminate these dangers, are being distributed to parents and caregivers of toddlers at daycare centers and pre-schools. These safety steps advise consumers to:

Buy and install low-cost anchoring devices to prevent TVs, dressers, bookcases or other furniture from tipping.
Avoid leaving items, such as remote controls and toys, in places where kids might be tempted to climb up to reach for them.
Store heavier items on lower shelves or in lower drawers.
Place TVs on a sturdy, low base and push them as far back as possible, particularly if anchoring is not possible.
If purchasing a new TV, consider recycling older ones not currently used. If moving the older TV to another room, be sure it is anchored properly to the wall.

CPSC Consumer Information Hotline
Contact us at this toll-free number if you have questions about a recall:
800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054)
Times: 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET; Messages can be left anytime
Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.

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SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission