We aren't talking here about the cumulative effect of lead ingestion. The issue is if tackle, used as intended, poses a significant health risk to the public. It does not. Period.

Crimping split-shots with your teeth is probably the closest you can actually come to ingesting lead while fishing. That exposure doesn't even come close to the what we've seen in lead levels from drinking water plumbed through ancient lead pipes. Lead is permeable, but it is unlikely that handling it for limited periods of time brings significant ingestion through osmosis. Switch to tunsten weights if you're worried about it.

I'm not trying to put my head in the sand, and pretend lead exposure is not potentially dangerous. However, the question that was raised was whether fishing tackle is a legitimate risk for lead ingestion. The reason for warning labeling was not an epiphany in the harm of lead in tackle. Once again, it was in response to extortion.