New York lawmakers are weighing a state ban on the sale of several infant products, pointing to studies that have linked them to serious injuries and deaths. 

Lawmakers on the Assembly Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee this week announced a legislative package that includes a ban on the sale of infant walkers in the state. A similar measure would ban the sale of infant loungers in New York. 

“Accidents can happen to anyone at any time, destroying families and tragically ruining lives,” said Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, the chair of the Assembly Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee. “In an effort to prevent avoidable deaths, New York needs to increase infant product safety and take dangerous items off the market.”

Lawmakers cited a study by the American Council of Pediatrics that found a risk of serious injury or death from the use of infant walkers. A Consumer Product Safety Commission report found at least eight deaths that have been linked to the use of infant loungers. 

“Infant walkers and loungers have caused horrific tragedies,” said Assemblywoman Amy Paulin. “Parents and caregivers who use them logically assume that they are safe for infant use. The reality is that they are not. There have been instances where a baby has rolled into the pillowed material, couldn’t right themselves, and suffocated to death. A ban of these products is needed not only to take them off the market going forward, but to alert current owners of these products of their dangers."

Both bills have cleared the Assembly's Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee this year.

"These common-sense bills will help us achieve one of our most important responsibilities in government: protecting the health and safety of the youngest New Yorkers,” said Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher, who chairs the Assembly Subcommittee on Child Product Safety.