POISONS ACT

Hokitika Guardian, 8 January 1929, Page 3

POISONS ACT

LITTLE HOPE OP AMENDMENT. WELLINGTON, Jan. 5. After a series of conferences with representatives of the comimercial community, the Department of Health has been forced to abandon its attempt to obtain amendment of the Poisons Act in the interests of public safety. Enquiries reveal that the attitude of the dealers in poisonous substances was sufficiently non-co-operative to make the task of the Department almost impossible. Consequently, the sweeping reforms which were proposed, though supported by the 'Police Department, have been shelved. The most that can be hoped for appears to he regulations which will be directed towards minimising the risk of accident through poison being placed in improper containers, improperly labelled. The opinion of tile Department is that grocers and small dealers in poisonous substances should not have the right to break up the containers and that the purchaser, when he removes the poison, should not empty it into a vessel which is ordinarily devoted to other things. For instance, weed killer should not be poured into a lieer bottle or spirits of salts into a stone ginger beer bottle. ‘Some sort of regulation to prevent this is almost certain to ho the sum of the Health Department’s attempts to revise a hopelessly out-oif-date statute unless the opinion of the dealers changes.