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Slingshot pencil makes list of 10 most dangerous toys

"To make a toy seem more appealing, marketing efforts are often inconsistent with a toy’s own warnings and instructions," the group said.

By Brooks Hays
The Bottle Rocket Party toy comes with several projectiles that can be dangerous "if misused." The box comes without the required safety goggles. UPI/WATCH
1 of 10 | The Bottle Rocket Party toy comes with several projectiles that can be dangerous "if misused." The box comes without the required safety goggles. UPI/WATCH

BOSTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- As Thanksgiving approaches and holiday shopping kicks into second gear, consumer watchdog group World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) is doing its best to warn buyers away from products "designed and marketed for sales over safety."

The group hopes their annual "10 Worst Toys" list will keep toys like bows and arrows and pencil slingshots out of the hands of children -- especially those too young to responsibly handle such hazardous products.

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Safety advocates at WATCH say the holidays are the time when toy companies ramp up marketing efforts, capitalizing on new trends, popular movies and hit TV shows. Safety often takes a backseat to maximizing profit, the group argues.

"To make a toy seem more appealing, marketing efforts are often inconsistent with a toy's own warnings and instructions," the group wrote in a press release. "For instance, the packaging of a riding toy may depict a child using the toy without any safety gear when the product's own instructions require a child to wear a helmet."

According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, there were 11 toy-related deaths of children under the age of 15 reported in 2012. Another 265,000 children showed up in the ER with toy-related injuries.

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In addition to slingshots, bottle rockets and bows and arrows -- all of which WATCH warns can result in eye injuries -- the list includes toys, like dolls and tools, with strangulation and choking risks.

The list also includes the SWAT Electronic Machine Gun, a replica weapon. The toy's packing includes the following warning: "This toy is a replica of a real weapon and is designed for amusement only. This is not to be used against any living beings. This product may be mistaken for an actual firearm by law enforcement officers and others."

Police shot and killed a young man in Ohio earlier this year, mistaking the airsoft rifle he was carrying in a Walmart for a loaded weapon.

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