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If the FDA adopts their proposed guidance, the biggest change would be that handheld lasers above 5 mW would become illegal to sell in the U.S. I believe FDA would not have the power nor the desire to come after lasers you already own. Their proposal would only affect future sales of handhelds...

This is a reminder that August 3 2014 is the deadline for the public to submit comments on FDA's May 5 proposal to essentially limit handheld lasers to below 5 milliwatts. This was first discussed in a thread back on May 2. You may recall that FDA was presenting "draft guidance" saying they...

Encap, when Livinloud wrote "Anything over 5mW is already illegal", you replied "Exactly", so I assumed you meant you agreed with the statement. FDA's regulatory authority comes from 21 CFR 1040.10 and 1040.11. In these regulations, FDA is given power over all laser products -- the physical...

Livinloud, Encap and Lotus_Darkrose: I believe you have been given wrong information by friends, FDA, or others. There are no federal restrictions on possession of lasers. (There may be some restrictions at the state or local level.) There are currently no federal restrictions on sales of...

The FDA today (May 2 2014) proposed regulations that would effectively ban laser pointers and handheld lasers in the U.S. over 5 milliwatts. Currently these can go up to about 3000 milliwatts. The FDA's is doing this by stretching -- to put it mildly -- their existing authority over surveying...

Not everything in the world is happy internet sharing opensource hobbyist LPF goodness. Some companies want to keep a competitive advantage. If they develop a new device or projector or technique or process, they understandably want to keep it for themselves -- at least, until other persons...

BShanahan14rulz, I think you have it there. The 100 second standard is for situations where a person might look into a dim light, and the bright-light aversion reflex does not kick in. This might be an occupational exposure (for example, using a laser for alignment tasks) or in this case...

I was told that the 100 second limit would apply to this toy. Frankly, I am not sure why. My main expertise is with the "aversion response" limits that apply when an exposure is strong enough to trigger a person to blink, look away from the light, etc. These are for a 1/4 second exposure. The...

I was told by someone who tested it (with lab-quality equipment, not a Coherent LaserCheck!) that the bandwidth was about 2 nm and the total emitted power as collected for classification is 150uW. They also said that the Class 1 AEL for 100 seconds is 39uW, under IEC 60825-1, and that is the...

Due to the intense interest in the JT performance expressed here and elsewhere, I have researched the safety of this performance. Based on my research, I can tell you that the show was completely safe and legal under both New York State and FDA/CDRH regulations. I can personally vouch for the...

So far in Dec. 2013 I have seen about 25 news reports warning consumers about laser toys, and how they have caused eye injuries. I was unaware of such toys or injuries, so I began researching this issue. The results are at a page entitled "Are laser toys an actual hazard?" . There are...

For Event_Horizon and others: FDA's authority over lasers is set forth in 21 CFR 1040.10 and 1040.11. Over the years, FDA has tried to expand its interpretation of these regulations. They first did it in the late 1980s, to define and regulate "pointers" even though the word "pointer" and the...

I am not sure what you are asking about, regarding Class 1 lasers in the U.S. Here is some information which may be applicable. 1) I am not aware of any eye injuries from a Class 1 laser in the U.S. 2) According to FDA as of April 2012 they have never received a report of eye injury from...

LED's are specifically not included: "Note to paragraph (a): Sections 1040.10 and 1040.11 are not applicable to light emitting diodes (LEDs) or products containing LEDs unless such products are also laser products as defined in § 1040.10(b)(4)."

In June, the FDA published a notice in the Federal Register of proposed changes to U.S. laser product regulations. The public is invited to comment; the deadline for comment submission is September 23 2013. FDA must evaluate and respond to comments (even if they choose to ignore them), so if you...

Mention has been made of the Australian ban, and how that has worked out. There are some articles here about the Australian situation: http://www.laserpointersafety.com/news/news/other-news_files/tag-australia.php One of them says that the ban may have backfired because imported pointers are...

Sweden’s national government has proposed banning “powerful laser pointers,” defined as handheld Class 3R, 3B and 4 lasers. This would make it illegal from November 1 2013 to import, produce, acquire, possess, use, transfer or lease any handheld laser 1 mW and above, without a permit. Swedes who...

A few notes about the Laser Safety Tax idea from me, the private citizen who suggested it. It is designed as an idea for discussion. I have no power to impose this. In fact, I don't believe we need laser bans or restrictions at this time. (Various groups like CDRH, pilots, FAA and laser sellers...

Hi, this is an interesting and important thread, and I want to add my 2 cents. Please note that I am writing as a private citizen, and not in any capacity with laser organizations. First, a note that I am not covering all parts of this topic. I am primarily concerned with what U.S. federal law...