FEDERAL LAW
Reese's Law
Public Law 117-171. Passed August 16, 2022.
What it does
Reese's Law is the federal standard for products that contain button cell or coin batteries. It requires manufacturers to secure the battery compartments so a small child cannot open them, and to warn families on the packaging. It is enforced by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The law was signed by the President on August 16, 2022. It was named in honor of Reese Elizabeth Hamsmith.
The six provisions
Reese's Law requires every product that contains a button cell or coin battery to meet six specific standards.
Battery compartments containing replaceable button cell or coin batteries must be secured such that they require the use of a tool or at least two independent and simultaneous hand movements to open.
Button cell or coin battery compartments must not allow such batteries to be accessed or liberated as a result of use and abuse testing.
The packaging for the overall product must bear a warning.
The product itself must bear a warning, if practicable.
Accompanying instructions and manuals must include all of the applicable warnings.
Replacement button cell or coin batteries sold on their own must be packaged in child-resistant packaging.
Why this law exists
Button batteries are small enough to be swallowed and powerful enough to burn through tissue in under two hours. A button battery lodged in a child's esophagus generates an electrical current that creates a hydroxide reaction with surrounding tissue. The damage is severe, and the symptoms can be mistaken for a common cold or a stomach virus. By the time a parent or a pediatrician identifies the cause, the damage is often catastrophic.
Reese Elizabeth Hamsmith died on December 17, 2020, from injuries caused by a button battery she swallowed when she was seventeen months old. The battery came from a small household remote with an unsecured compartment and no warning label. Her family worked for the next two years to make sure no other child would have access to that battery in that way.
Reese's Law is the result.
What we did to get here
We did not pass this law alone. The push for federal standards on button cell and coin batteries was a coordinated effort across families, medical professionals, child safety advocates, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.
Kids in Danger, the Chicago-based child product safety nonprofit, had been working on battery safety for years before Reese's Purpose existed. They handed off their recall digest to Trista in year of handoff when they wound down operations, and we steward that work today.
Many doctors who treated children harmed by button batteries spoke at hearings, wrote letters, and pushed CPSC publicly. The medical community's voice was decisive.
What we are doing now
On exact launch date in May 2026, Energizer launched the Ultimate Child Shield battery, a button battery designed so that a child who swallows it cannot be hurt by it. The battery is the result of a four-year industry partnership that Reese's Purpose drove from inside the room. It is on store shelves now.
Reese's Law required compartments and warnings. The Ultimate Child Shield battery solves the underlying problem. Together, the two outcomes are the most significant change in U.S. button battery safety in a generation.
We are still pushing on the remaining gaps. Implementation of Reese's Law's labeling requirements is uneven. Some manufacturers comply late, some comply minimally, and some still try to sell non-compliant products through resale channels. We track this work and report it.
Read the law
Button batteries are small enough to be swallowed and powerful enough to burn through tissue in under two hours. A button battery lodged in a child's esophagus generates an electrical current that creates a hydroxide reaction with surrounding tissue. The damage is severe, and the symptoms can be mistaken for a common cold or a stomach virus. By the time a parent or a pediatrician identifies the cause, the damage is often catastrophic.
Reese Elizabeth Hamsmith died on December 17, 2020, from injuries caused by a button battery she swallowed when she was seventeen months old. The battery came from a small household remote with an unsecured compartment and no warning label. Her family worked for the next two years to make sure no other child would have access to that battery in that way.
Reese's Law is the result.
Suspect a child has swallowed a button battery?
Time matters. A button battery lodged in a child's esophagus can cause serious tissue damage in two hours. Do not wait for symptoms. Call the National Battery Ingestion Hotline immediately, and go to a hospital emergency department that has both an operating room and X-ray capability.
Suspect button battery ingestion?
Call the National Battery Ingestion Hotline: 1-800-498-8666 (24/7)
