Cashless society drives drop in children swallowing coins, researchers say

The shift away from using coins has fuelled a drop in children needing surgery to remove objects they have swallowed or stuck up their noses, research suggests.

Analysis published in The Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England journal found far fewer children are now needing hospital procedures to remove objects from throats, noses and airways.

Contactless payments were first introduced in the UK in 2007, and cash payments significantly declined from 2012, the researchers said.

Their study looked at English hospital data from 2000 to 2022 for objects removed from babies and children aged up to 14.

Looking closely from 2012, when cash became less popular, the study found a “significant decline” in foreign bodies removed from the digestive tract, respiratory tract and nasal cavity.

Between 2012 and 2022, there was a 29% drop (689 cases), from 2,405 in 2012 to 1,716 in 2022.

Digestive tract operations fell by 195 procedures over the decade, from 708 to 513.

Nasal cavity operations fell by 484, from 1,565 to 1,081, and respiratory tract procedures fell by 10, from 132 to 122.

Akash Jangan, lead author of the study and ear, nose and throat registrar, said: “Our research shows that using cashless payment methods instead of coins has potentially helped keep children safe and reduced the need for surgery.

“This unintended finding proves that changes in how we live can make a difference to people’s health.

“It also means healthcare resources can be allocated to helping patients in other ways.”

In the past, coins have been established as one of the most commonly ingested foreign bodies, the researchers said.

Coins have been implicated in more than 75% of swallowed foreign bodies in children under the age of six, and are “frequently ingested because of their thin, round shape and easy accessibility”, they added.

They suggested the cost of removing foreign bodies is around £2.8 million a year.

The researchers said other factors may have helped cut the number of children ingesting objects, such as improved child-proof packaging and better awareness among parents.

But they said parents must still be on their guard for all hazards, including button batteries and magnets, which can be lethal.

Ram Moorthy, from the Royal College of Surgeons of England and consultant surgeon, said: “It is positive that fewer children are swallowing coins.

“This study shows how new technology can make children safer in ways we didn’t intend, but there are still hazardous items to be aware of.

“As doctors, we still worry about other dangerous items, such as button batteries and magnets, that can really cause harm.

“We must continue to make sure that small items like this are not within a child’s reach.”

The research was first published in the journal last year.