Warning Labels

I hear so many people say, "Tear off the warning labels," so only the smart people will survive, or that "People are so stupid they need these warning labels."  Labels say coffee is hot, use product only as directed, do not ingest, etc.

My take is only the smart people read warning labels, but do not need the obvious ones.  Stupid people don't read anything, and then make fun of people who do read or do anything "brainy."  Those obvious labels are there for legal reasons, not because people don't know the coffee is hot.  People are not stupid, they’re clever.  They will sue and win money from the corporations, all over technicalities such as something not being labeled.  The corporations are simply trying to protect themselves legally from paying future settlements in civil suits.  For instance, most non-edible products will tell you to call Poison Control if the item is accidentally ingested by you or your child.  Poison Control relieves you, saying that your child who drank a bit of laundry detergent will be okay, but corporations will tell you to call Poison Control anyway so you can not sue them.  The ball is no longer in their court.

Reading the warning labels is good.  Not all information is the dumb obvious kind.  Knowing exactly when and when not to use over-the-counter medicine for is useful, especially if it's a product you haven't tried before.  Most people don’t have medical knowledge about liver or kidney damage or which products not to combine.

Removing the warning labels would not change anything for the "stupid" people, if they didn't read the labels to begin with.  They would just misuse the product on their own with or without directions.  The companies would then have total liability for not providing the information.  Injured consumers would not have to get clever and just mention anything was missing.  Because all the relevant information is marked, consumers have to try harder to look for holes and information gaps in order to make legal claims.  The clever consumer has to "play dumb" to win the court case, get the money, and then the company throws on the dumb warning label, thus deceiving the populace into thinking people are getting dumber.

Everyone knows the coffee is hot, but a smarter label would specify how hot.  What temperature?  There is a difference been 98 degrees (body temperature), and 212 degrees (boiling).

Originally a Facebook Note posted: June 28, 2013
Updated: March 1, 2020