Green-peace: Don't chew on your iPhone cable, it may kill you!

[Juventus3]

It's a good thing green-peace is around to warn us not to eat our electronics.

"The headphone cables had 1.5 per cent by weight phthalate in it. People sometimes chew on these cables and this is the risk that we are raising," Alhajj said.

People sure are out to get Apple these days. Goes with the territory I suppose.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Juventus3

It's a good thing green-peace is around to warn us not to eat our electronics.

You would think that not eating or chewing on plastic would be a rule of thumb for teenagers and adults. Unfortunately, the idiocy of the general population never fails to astound me.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

I would laugh but sometimes at the gym when digging for that little bit more and the headphones cable is drooping down I have bit down on it... not like I was chewing but... umm yeah nevermind... stupid greenpeace.

[Burninator]

The iPhone just can't catch a break.

[llama64]

Why must people stand in the way of natural selection?

If people want to kill themselves chewing on wires, let them.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by llama64

Why must people stand in the way of natural selection?

If people want to kill themselves chewing on wires, let them.

###

[Dan02]

Weird i was chewing on my headphone cables when i read this thread. Thank god they aren't iPhone cables.

But then again i dont know if it cant be called chewing seeing as i never really bite them, more just playing around with the cord.

[TheDragon]

It's not just the chewing of the iPhone cables that has Greenpeace spearheading this campaign - it's the chemicals and compounds used in the iPhone's affect on the enviroment that's got them in the most tizzy. The toxins that are inside the iPhone are pretty harmful.

"What we have seen from the electronic devices, that when they end up becoming waste and they are trashed in countries like China, India or Africa, people who are trashing these devices are inhaling or are subject to these hazardous chemicals and therefore it is affecting them and the environment around them," Alhajj said.

Not only that, but phthalate is hazardous to mammals, not just people. If your child or pet decided it want to chomp on the cables, it could very well make them sick and or infertile.

--

Another article about it:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/200...one-toxic.html

The latest embarrassment for Apple’s iPhone is a report from ecoadvocacy group, Greenpeace, which says the revolutionary new cell phone has traces of two toxic chemicals that have been eliminated by some of Apple’s rivals from their products.

[ken0042]

Looks like Apple has been warning people about the dangers of eating their electronics for a while now.
http://rajdoshi.com/archives/2005/01..._eat_ipod.html

[arsenal]

How do you chew on cables on a wireless device is what i want to know...

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by TheDragon

It's not just the chewing of the iPhone cables that has Greenpeace spearheading this campaign - it's the chemicals and compounds used in the iPhone's affect on the enviroment that's got them in the most tizzy. The toxins that are inside the iPhone are pretty harmful.

Not only that, but phthalate is hazardous to mammals, not just people. If your child or pet decided it want to chomp on the cables, it could very well make them sick and or infertile.

Who cares? Haven't you been reading the thread? People who support natural selection among the human race don't mind these kinds of hazards... in fact maybe we should start reducing safety measures across the board, too many dumb people are being protected by 'laws' and 'regulations' in this world.

[Juventus3]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

Who cares? Haven't you been reading the thread? People who support natural selection among the human race don't mind these kinds of hazards... in fact maybe we should start reducing safety measures across the board, too many dumb people are being protected by 'laws' and 'regulations' in this world.

Have you been affected by a cable chewing incident?

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by Juventus3

Have you been affected by a cable chewing incident?

A guy in this thread said that sometimes he chews on his cable headphone cable... so it's not like it's never happened to anyone.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

A guy in this thread said that sometimes he chews on his cable headphone cable... so it's not like it's never happened to anyone.

He also admitted it was stupid...

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by rubecube

He also admitted it was stupid...

So I suppose then, that if he happened to get poisoned/die because of doing it (not knowing poison/death was a possibility), he deserves it because he's stupid... seems a bit harsh to me.

[Juventus3]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

So I suppose then, that if he happened to get poisoned/die because of doing it (not knowing poison/death was a possibility), he deserves it because he's stupid... seems a bit harsh to me.

You're missing the point. Society is full of toxic chemicals. Should we remove everything inedible from stores? How about gasoline?

If it doesn't look like food, and doesn't taste like food, don't eat it.

[TheDragon]

Originally Posted by Juventus3

You're missing the point. Society is full of toxic chemicals. Should we remove everything inedible from stores? How about gasoline?

If it doesn't look like food, and doesn't taste like food, don't eat it.

It's not just toxins from ingestion, though, (even though it's equally as disturbing if you considered that a small child or a pet could get quite sick or even die, because Joe Shmoe left his iPhone on the table unattended.) That's not really the issue that Greenpeace is trying to bring to light. The fact that the cables should (obviously) not be chewed on is just a side note.

People who deal with recycling of the iPhone or the handling of the parts are the ones most at risk, as is the environment. Almost every mobile phone company is obligated to follow strict regulations stating they will not use certain toxins in the production of their products, just like any other electronics company. The fact that Apple came in last of all the major phone companies after having their product tested for toxins is the real issue here, especially after Steve Jobs issued this statement to his company:

A recent document entitled "A Greener Apple" from Apple co-founder Steve Job states:
"Apple has been criticized by some environmental organizations for not being a leader in removing toxic chemicals from its new products, and for not aggressively or properly recycling its old products. Upon investigating Apple's current practices and progress towards these goals, I was surprised to learn that in many cases Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors in these areas.

[GoFlambe]

An Apple product is not an apple.

And now that we've got that cleared up, back to your regularly scheduled program...

[Nuje]

*shrug*. I just buy Apple's competition products due to price, and longevity. Even my safer portable devices don't get chewed on.

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by Juventus3

You're missing the point. Society is full of toxic chemicals. Should we remove everything inedible from stores? How about gasoline?

If it doesn't look like food, and doesn't taste like food, don't eat it.

Well... I guess I thought the point was to inform people about the levels of toxins in the product. I don't see the harm in informing people that the thing they *may* be chewing on is poisonous, but again, I suppose the natural selection people here prefer it that way. There seems to be an idea here that it never happens to anyone, though from the article/this thread it seems that it's not as rare an event as some are implying.