Statement from the Minister of Health on raising awareness of furniture and television tip-overs with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

OTTAWA, Nov. 6, 2017 /CNW/ - Furniture and television tip-overs can cause significant injuries, especially to small children. Injury prevention and consumer product safety are priorities for Health Canada. That is why Canada is pleased to lead the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) campaign to promote awareness of the safety risks posed by furniture and television tip-overs, from November 6 to 10, 2017.

Each year in Canada, there are multiple incidents involving furniture or televisions that tip over onto children. These incidents can cause serious head and internal injuries, suffocation and even death. More than 70% of the reported television tip-over incidents in Canada involve children between 1 and 3 years of age.  

There are many things you can do to prevent furniture tip-overs in your home:

• Securely attach furniture, televisions and appliances to the wall using angle braces, anchors or safety straps.
• Teach children that it is not safe to climb or pull themselves up on furniture.
• Select furniture and televisions that are designed to resist tipping, and look for information that indicates that the furniture complies with relevant safety standards for stability.
• Check the warning labels on your furniture, televisions and appliances and look for in-store signage or information bulletins about how to prevent tip-overs. Find out about safety features by visiting the manufacturer's website or talking to your retailer.

The Government of Canada is working with partners to raise awareness of the safety risk posed by furniture and television tip-overs. I strongly encourage Canadians to visit the Canada.ca website to learn more about simple actions that can be taken to reduce the risk of injury from tip-overs.

Related Links
Furniture, appliance and television safety
Furniture tip-over video

SOURCE Health Canada

For further information: Yves-Alexandre Comeau, Office of Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, 613-957-0200; Media Relations, Health Canada, [phone]