Brussels Wants Health Warnings on iPods, MP3 Players
The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, wants to introduce health warnings on mp3 players, in order to reduce excessive exposure to high sound levels. European Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva announced the measures at a press conference together with Digital Europe chief Bridget Cosgrave. From EbS: Consumers will benefit from new default settings on personal music players set at safe exposure levels, as well clear warnings on the adverse effects of excessive exposure to high sound levels, following a decision by the European Commission today. In October 2008, the EU Scientific Committee SCENIHR 1 , warned that listening to personal music players at a high volume over a sustained period can lead to permanent hearing damage. 5-10% of listeners risk permanent hearing loss. These are people typically listening to music for over 1 hour a day at high volume control settings. It is estimated that up to 10 million people in the EU may be at risk. The European Commission today sent a mandate to CENELEC (the EU standardisation body) requiring new technical safety standards to be drawn up.
Jessica
Viola
fuck this, authoritarian utilitarian EU at its worst
Todd
The economy is in shambles, the nations of Europe are being overrun with illegal immigrants, and the best thing they can spend their time doing is talking about the “dangers of personal music devices!” WTH?
Marcia
Oh my! You’re one of those cranks who believe cars can run on H2O! Unless you’re talking about fuel cells (which don’t run on H2O) you can be dismissed as an idiot.
Howard
Taxes don’t and shouldn’t take most. The rest of your comment is just ramblings. What you’re complaining about is YOUR government. Public schools work fine in europe, NASA is seriously underfunded and it’s amazing how much they squeeze out of every $ they get (WMAP mission, hubble telescope, Kepler mission are all profoundly important scientific projects). You’re a short-sighted anti-social fool who would like to abolish fire service just because it doesn’t serve your immediate financial aim.
Michael
Cars can run H2O and but the U.S. government owns 80% of GM and will still run on gasoline. Everything the government touches it breaks. Tax cuts are only good if spending cuts goes with it. Bush failed and borrow and spent the U.S. Those tax cuts end next year and Obama has a $2T budget deficit for 2010. He will ask the FED to print/borrow the money which will debase the $ into nothing. Government always destroys market, choice and purchasing power. Government is the gun in the room.
Jacob
High Taxes= Moral Irresponsibility. What incentive is there to produce when taxes take out most of it. Bush created a problem due to spending. Even if the lower taxes always brings in more revenue for the government, he spent and borrowed and gave to his buddies. Corporatism at its finest. Schools are broken and broke. NASA is broke and could be done privately, public health care is really broke and broken in the U.S. Military benefits. If you can’t tax and inflate.
Joyce
Taxes are a good buffer in case of hard times. Low taxes=fiscal irresponsibility. It’s because of ridiculous tax cuts during Bush that you’re in trouble now. Moreover taxation can spur the market to use solutions that are undesirable in the short term but good in the long run e.g alternate fuels and energy sources. It’s good to have them before **** hits the fan with fossil fuels.
Sure. Schools, universities, NASA, public health care (in european countries), military (in some cases) and more.
Rose
Yeah, you are probably right, I am chanting when they take over 50% of what I earn and I don’t see the benefit of their services as opposed to when I directly pay for something. I am still trying to find a gov’t program that actually isn’t bankrupt, in debt, broke. I am also having a tough time finding a government program/agency that actually is effective and works besides taking money, rights and freedoms. Do you know one?
Shirley
Yeah, you’re chanting. It is your article of faith that anything touched by the gov. is profane while a pure free market is chaste, noble and sacred. A variation on the biblical creation myth, it all used to be fine until the Evil prevailed and made everything flawed, sinful and dirty.
Google ‘ david brin questionnaire ‘ and click on the 1st result. You don’t have to answer the questions, just give them some thought.
Jeff
of course!
Ricardo
Chanting that gov’t doesn’t work. It is force, coercion and theft. They are the mafia. We haven’t had a free market. We will see a currency crisis starting with the dollar and pound going down. We will see gov’t accelerate their plans for more regulation which will tip the the western world into the next major depression. U.S. will lose their empire. If Ireland votes no this week, that will be the crossroads for Barroso to either claim total power or watch the EU break apart, regulation= theft.
Paul
Are you arguing or are you just chanting to strengthen your unshakable faith in the market unfettered and unfouled by the evil unclean government?
Terri
Now the free market can accelerate that process by providing a better quality, lower power or alternative power product which, like flat screen tv’s and computers, the price points and competition would be favorable for all parties without gov’t intervention.
Jeremy
Regulation can actually spur the free market. Example: in 1940s the US government made the refrigerator producers put labels on their products informing the potential buyer about their product’s power consumption. This incentivized the producers to create fridges as energy efficient as possible because people could now see exactly what they’re buying. The initial cost of refrigerators went up but it was more than made up by lower exploitation cost.
Juan
They should put health warnings on the health warning next, they stress me out just reading about the diseases/things that could harm me. lol
Harvey
I guess my comments are true as you resort to a “cuckoo land” comment. I am having fun by playing the music at levels I deem necessary. Per your name “HIFI-monkeykong”, with the new regulations, the government will tell you what “HIFI” is, at what level and for how long. Have fun in that land but no thanks, let me choose what is right for me.
Evelyn
you are a **** !
Thomas
yeah have fun in cuckoo land
Chester
Where I live, the average db noise ranges over 40db… Am I supposed to regulate them? NO!
Besides, Ms Dark Hair, nobody listens to music on “HIGH LEVEL”, if they do, it must be a low percentage of the population. Meaning that it probably isnt 10million people.
Caroline
The market went off the rails with regulation. We don’t live in a free market. All planned economic governments fail and go bankrupt. The banking industry is corrupt because of their collusion with the government. I do have kids to worry about. Let me parent my kids, I don’t need the government regulating what products are right for my children. I have woken up and smelled the coffee. NO GOVERNMENT PROGRAM has ever worked successfully.
Samantha
Yes, what a goooood idea – just like the banking industry – do you have kids to worry about? You still havent understood that THE MARKET DOESNT REGULATE ON ITS OWN – ITS GOES OFF THE RAILS AND CRASHES WITHOUT REGULATION – wake up and smell the coffee
Fred
horrible use of government. Let the free market regulate safety.
Jeff
finally!