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  • 20
    Dec
    2011
    2:50pm, EST

    Baby changing stations: Convenient for swapping diapers -- or doing a line

    By Linda Dahlstrom, TODAY

    Those baby changing stations found in public bathrooms often look a little suspect when it comes to cleanliness. But of all the things you might imagine would be mucking up the surface, probably cocaine didn’t cross your mind.

    But that’s exactly what was found on 92 out of 100 nappy changing stations tested at shopping centers, hospitals, police stations and churches (!) in the UK, reported The Daily Telegraph.  A team of journalists from Real Radio conducted the investigation as part of the Cocaine Unwrapped series.

    One former addict, going by the name Kerry, told the Real Radio journalists she “was taking cocaine in my dinner times in the toilets [and] I was coming back off my head.”

    Last month, the UK was named the cocaine capital of Europe, with nearly 5 percent of residents saying they’ve tried it at least once, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

    While the study was done in the UK, it does give us pause when you think about what exactly happens on pull-down tables that are so convenient for changing a baby or, apparently, snorting a line.

    We don’t know about you, but we plan on giving it an extra wipe down next time we use one.

    Do you use diaper changing tables in public restrooms? What are your tips for protecting your baby?

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Linda Dahlstrom, TODAY

is a senior health editor with the NBC News. She co-ordinates consumer-focused health and wellness coverage. Prior to that, she worked for newspapers for 15 years. She is based in the Seattle area.

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