While the Heimlich maneuver has been a go-to solution for choking for half-a-century, in the last decade anti-choking or airway clearance devices have grown in popularity, thanks in part to news reports and social media.<\/p>\n
Airway clearance devices gained national attention in 2021 after a stranger used a LifeVac device to save a 10-month-old choking at a South Carolina restaurant. In 2023, bodycam video from Ontario, Ohio captured a police officer using a LifeVac on a toddler as the child choked on a toy nail.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Anti-choking devices are designed to clear the airway of a person while they are choking
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The City Council recently passed legislation to require the devices in every school in the city
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There\u2019s an active debate by medical professionals over whether to endorse the products<\/p>\n
The devices are handheld and placed over a victim\u2019s nose and mouth to create suction. The user then pulls a handle up to activate the suction and dislodge an object stuck in a victim\u2019s throat.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s now a rising movement across the country to require schools be stocked with airway clearance devices, including in New York City.<\/p>\n
Former City Council member Kristy Marmorato led the effort to mandate airway clearance devices in every school building in the city.<\/p>\n
Marmorato explained why the issue is personal for her in an interview with NY1.<\/p>\n
\u201c30 years ago, we lost my grandfather to choking, a choking event in a restaurant, and they did do a Heimlich maneuver. It was a failed attempt,\u201d Marmorato said.<\/p>\n
Before stepping into politics, Marmorato had a 20-year career in healthcare as an x-ray technician. She convinced more than a dozen council members to cosponsor her push to place anti-choking devices in city schools.<\/p>\n
The legislation she sponsored quietly passed in December, just before Marmorato\u2019s term in office came to an end. However, the law only takes effect when and if a device receives FDA authorization for use in school-age children during choking emergencies and when there\u2019s formal guidance on using the devices from the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross.<\/p>\n
Questions have since surfaced about the science and the sales of airway clearance devices.<\/p>\n
Emergency room physician Dr. Darria Long spent time learning about and testing anti-choking devices.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am an ER doctor, and I\u2019m a mom. I have three children, so if there is something better to help us with choking, I am all for it,\u201d Long said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did a really deep dive because there is a lot, there are a lot of viral videos about these devices,\u201d she said. \u201cI bought all the devices myself and tried them on myself, as much as you can on yourself, tried them on my children, tried them on my husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI also really dove into, what is the literature that exists? What are the studies?\u201c Long added.<\/p>\n
What she found wasn\u2019t straightforward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not data right now \u2014 of human data looking at these that is from independent sources \u2014 that is really showing that these devices were more effective than traditional first aid,\u201d Long said. \u201cThere are some other studies that have shown potential problems, such as when done in cadavers, they show that after multiple times it can create some swelling.\u201d<\/p>\n
The American Red Cross, the American Heart Association and the FDA all advise that if a person is choking, use established protocols like the Heimlich maneuver first and anti-choking devices should only be used as backup if the Heimlich or back blows and chest thrusts aren\u2019t working.<\/p>\n
Phil Heimlich has emerged as a vocal critic of anti-choking devices. His father, Dr. Henry Heimlich, created the Heimlich maneuver.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father spoke out very strongly against these devices, because, as he explained, when you are choking, you only have four minutes before death or brain damage sets in, and my father specifically warned that going hunting for some device is going to likely cost the life of the person,\u201d Heimlich said.<\/p>\n
In February 2025, as the Council weighed mandating airway clearance devices in city schools, the New York State office of Children and Family Services sent a letter to child care programs across the state advising \u201cestablished rescue protocols do not include anti-choking devices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seven months later, the FDA sent a warning letter directly to LifeVac, writing, \u201cFDA is concerned that your firm\u2019s continued unauthorized marketing and distribution of the LifeVac Rescue Suction Device may put the public health and safety at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
NY1 asked Marmorato if she consulted with any medical authorities while pushing for her legislation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in the medical field for 24 years. I do have CPR certification, and I do know that the Heimlich maneuver is the first line of defense,\u201d Marmorato responded. \u201cWe know that we have something, in addition, that can possibly save someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
After years of warnings, in March the FDA issued new guidance authorizing the LifeVac for marketing and distribution as a second-line treatment for choking in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Creator Arthur Lih says the change in classification from the FDA did not come overnight.<\/p>\n
\u201cTook us two years, intensive scientific data testing, force, cadaver simulation, biostatistician analysis, packaging, everything,\u201d Lih said.<\/p>\n
The legislation requiring city schools to stock anti-choking devices has not gone into effect, as the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association are both still weighing the safety of anti-choking devices.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Lih says he\u2019ll focus on the mission of his company, saving lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet trained, have a LifeVac and we\u2019ll stop one child from dying every five days, and we\u2019ll have a year where no child dies in schools,\u201d Lih said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the Heimlich maneuver has been a go-to solution for choking for half-a-century, in the last decade anti-choking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2952,109,387,25,3407,2953,9,24,11,10,12,87,308,27,200],"class_list":["post-227837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-app-health","tag-app-local-state-politics","tag-app-public-safety","tag-app-top-stories","tag-ayana-harry","tag-health","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-public-safety","tag-top-stories","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}