A dubious legislative solution to the Tide Pod problem

Published February 7, 2018 3:43pm ET



The year is 2018, and teenagers are eating laundry detergent for sport. Lawmakers apparently believe the trend can be stopped by forcing companies to make their laundry detergent look less delicious. (By the way: Laundry detergent does not look delicious.)

Democratic state senators in New York introduced legislation on Monday that would outlaw the sale of liquid detergent packets not contained in “child-resistant wrappers,” defined in the bill as “opaque covering of the liquid detergent packet that is not easily permeated by a child’s bite, which has a uniform color that is not attractive to children.” The legislation would also require each pod to carry a warning label.

Already a print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account

Trusted reporting.Unlimited access.

Subscribe for full access to Washington Examiner coverage, expert political analysis, and subscriber-only journalism.

Get Unlimited Access

Already a member? Log in

Cancel anytime.