Hello Everyone,

I have seen a number of articles and websites recently where the
laser-pen has been extolled as a great way of exercising cats or dogs
(you stay stationary and shine the "light" around the room, and the
animal rushes round in a frenzy of delight after the bright red dot).

It's a brilliant idea, but unfortunately in the rapidity of movement and
the excitement of the cat or dog, it's more than possible that the beam
will hit the animal's retina and even though that they may occur for
only a second or so, repeated exposures can cause serious damage to a
pet's eyesight.

Better to stick with a tickler dangling from a piece of elastic on the
end of a long cane.

Thomas.

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Laser pen abusers to get long prison terms

The pens look innocent but can cause serious eye damage.
UK Home Secretary, Jack Straw, has warned that people found guilty of
using laser pens to cause injury, can expect up to five years in prison.

His statement comes after three Hampshire police officers were seriously
injured when a beam temporarily blinded them.

They join many others who have fallen victim to a device that experts
say is too dangerous to be used by the untrained.

The pens look innocuous but in the wrong hands they are dangerous
weapons. Pressing a button releases a thin but powerful laser beam with
a range of up to 200ft (61m).

The pens are intended as a replacement for the old-fashioned pointing
sticks used by lecturers. But increasingly they are being abused.

When shone directly into the eyes, the effect is temporary blindness or
even more permanent eye damage.


Patrick Rafter recovers after being hit by a laser

At the Paris Indoor Tennis Open two weeks ago, the Australian Patrick
Rafter became a victim. A laser beam shone by a spectator was directed
at the player's face. The game had to be halted while he recovered.

Other sportsmen and pop stars have been targetted too.

In South Yorkshire one bus company has recorded 32 separate incidents in
the past month. Drivers say they have been picked out by people intent
on causing an accident.

Dr Ajoy Kar, a physicist from Heriott-Watt University who specialises in
lasers, has tested those on sale in Britain - some for as little as Ł15.
Of 43 studied, only five met safety standards with beams of less than
one milliwatt. But even those which conform to standard could still
cause serious harm.

"A laser pen is a hundred million times brighter than a television
screen, it's like staring at the sun," he said.

Trading standards officers have been told to remove from sale laser pens
which do not meet safety standards but there is to be no complete ban.
The UK Home Office says people who use lasers as weapons or intend to
cause injury can already be imprisoned.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/29333.stm