A good many aluminum can drink products marketed in Kuwait had that old style pull tabs, per our knowledge of products we bought up until the end of 2015.

Perhaps the "ban" in the United States was a conspiracy against those charity gimmicks where people were to save the pull tabs for whatever was the offer of the month?

They were a real hazard. Sharp bits of metal scattered all over the place.

People would pull them off and drop them in the can before drinking. That I remember seeing myself. Then I saw an episode of Emergency where a guy did that and ended up drinking the pull tab. It got stuck in his throat. Who knows if that was based on truth, but scared me so much that I would tell anyone and everyone not to put the tab into the can until after the can was empty.

Quoting my own post.

Lipton canned iced tea in Kuwait still uses the old style pull tabs, unless I've bought some really old stock last week.

In a very unscientific survey at the canned drinks section in the Kuwait Jabriya co-op (grocery store) looks like the old style pull tabs are unique to Pepsi products and the Lipton ice tea products.

Even within the Pepsi products, however, not all were old style pull tabs. The 330mL 7-UP cans were old style, the 150mL 7-Up cans were new style.

Jimmy Buffet immortalized losing a flip flop to one in Margaritaville.

What sticks in my mind is a small crying child with her foot slashed open by one at a swimming spot.

(I didn't know the child, so don't know what came of it; I don't think the damage was major, but it can't have been much fun, and such things can get infected.)