If you have kids in school, scouts or what have you, you're probably aware of "peanut-free zones" and various other food restrictions that are in place these days. Ones that didn't exist 15, 20, 30 years ago when you were in school. So, why the sudden onslaught of kids dying from peanut butter? Who the hell knows -- there doesn't seem to be much of a problem:

Prescribing adrenaline-injecting EpiPens to children with food allergies may be fuelling anxiety in parents unnecessarily, a child health expert says.

Pro/con commentaries in Saturday's issue of the British Medical Journal debate the question: are the dangers of childhood food allergy exaggerated?

Food allergy is thought to be more dangerous and frightening than pneumonia, asthma or diabetes.

In reality, the number of deaths is small at less than one per year on average in the United Kingdom, and only some are preventable, said Newcastle University child health professor Allan Colver.

Of course, it's possible the food restrictions are keeping the death tolls minimal. It'd be nice to see some science on allergies and kids though, with a mind to historical trends.