Environmental awareness and responsibility have steadily become a mainstream topic over the past few years with many major brands, restaurants and personal households making strides in the amount of waste they produce. First targeting single-use plastic and its symbolic leader; the plastic straw.
As a result of the targeted campaign against this item, many have turned to alternative straws from paper to pasta while most opt to use their personal metal straws. While this move is likely helping the planet, it could be detrimental to your health, one expert warned.
Lisa Bell, an Oral Health Specialist with BeSeen Hub warned: “The main concern with metal straws is their unforgiving rigidity. If someone were to fall or make a sudden movement while using one, the straw could cause serious injury. In extreme cases, it could even puncture a major artery, leading to life-threatening consequences.”
Tragically, this seemingly extreme situation has made headlines before as a woman with mobility issues died in 2018 after falling at her Dorset home while carrying a mason jar-style cup with a metal straw held in place through the lid. As she collapsed the straw pierced her eye socket and caused a fatal brain injury
A similar freak occurrence happened in New York in 2022 when a four-year-old boy was slurping a yoghurt through his metal straw and fell in just the right way for the utensil to go through his throat and tear his carotid artery. Because the straw didn’t cause any external injuries and remained in the yoghurt, the family was left dumbfounded in the direct aftermath of the accident but some speedy medical intervention assured he made a full recovery.
The expert highlighted that these risks are even more pronounced for young children or people with limited mobility or control over their hands. “Even small choices, like opting for a safer material, can make a big difference when it comes to preventing accidents,” Lisa advised.
There are an array of alternatives of the market including silicone straws, which offer flexibility, or reusable plastic straws which are still environmentally friendly. However, for those that want to stick with their metallic items, Lisa warned parents to be mindful of where these straws are stored as they could pose a risk to young children even when they aren’t in use.