I'd love to hear more about that. Does it leach into your body during use, and is a toy worth paying more for if it's free of them?

Pthalates can be absorbed dermally, so direct contact with the toy means exposure. Other modes of exposure are breathing them in or eating food that has been contaminated (from packaging or from air deposition). Personally, I always buy pthalate-free toys and I recommend other people do the same. On the other hand, we are constantly bombarded with pthalates from other plastic products (including medical devices). Still, why increase your exposure if you don't have to?

People are trying to get the FDA to impose stricter regulations on the use of pthalates in consumer products due to the research indicating that long term exposure is harmful. Unfortunately, the government tends to make any product available that does not show -immediate- health risks, and so we get what's called "bioaccumulation" of many toxins from consumer goods and medications and the health problems don't show up until later.

Funny thing is, you can often find disclaimers like that even on high-quality toys. It's largely meant to skirt around laws prohibiting the sale of sex toys in some areas, but it also absolves any less scrupulous companies from taking responsibility if someone gets a reaction from a toy. It's a strange practice.