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Christmas firework “sweets” kill hundreds of children
BMJ 1999; 319 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.319.7219.1222a (Published 06 November 1999) Cite this as: BMJ 1999;319:1222
- Claire Wallerstein
- Manila
Health experts in the Philippines are pleading for a ban on “watusi,” a popular Christmas firework, which has caused the deaths of hundreds of children through phosphorus poisoning.
Each year dozens of young children are killed or disabled after eating the brightly coloured traditional fireworks, mistaking them for sweets.
Watusi is sold in corner shops or by street vendors for less than one peso (1.5 p; …
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