Tuesday, Hull, UK.
Earlier this week Marion Pointer, a 47-year old customer services operative from Hull was badly hurt in an accident caused by a vitamin pill.
She had dropped the pill earlier onto a lino floor and lost it. Later, when padding around in bare feet she stood on it. The shock caused her to reel and fall onto her wireless network hub and stab herself with the aerial. This was stitched up after 7 hours spent waiting in a corridor on a hospital trolley.
The Medicines Patrol Agency of the Department of Health said:
“We have been warning about the dangers of the vitamin pills for many years. The general public are unaware of the inherent risks. To ensure complete safety, one option is for all health food shop staff to carry out a written risk assessment before these dangerous products can be sold.”
The government announced that the Select Committee on Making Things Hard For Alternative Medicine would be considering whether vitamins should only be available in liquid form from now on. Another option is to require manufacturers to make vitamin pills more visible when dropped. Fluorescent colouring is one option on the table.
The Vitamin Manufacturers’ Association said they thought these suggestions were reasonable. Their main concern was that of cost. They did not want any new regulations to push vitamins through the £100 a bottle level, or some people would not be able to afford them.
Ms Pointer was tonight taking Echinacea to try and avoid developing MRSA following her hospital visit. Some people never learn.
