Amazon, Target and Walmart to stop selling potentially deadly water beads marketed to kids

Major retailers including Amazon, Target and Walmart will stop selling water beads marketed to children amid calls for a ban on the colorful, water-absorbing balls sold as toys that can be potentially lethal if swallowed. 

The retailers, along with Etsy and Alibaba, are halting sales and marketing of water beads for children after receiving pressure from safety and consumers advocates as well as from policymakers, Consumer Reports reported on Wednesday.

The development comes a month after the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned that the beads can expand to many times their size once inside a child's body. The agency's chair also voiced support for a bill that would ban the product.