Articles
Most of us are exposed to hundreds of toxic chemicals each day – when hands are washed, dishes are washed, teethed brushed, hair shampooed, deodorant applied, face cleansed…..and so on. Certain chemicals are able to be absorbed through the skin directly into the blood stream. Some are even stored in body tissue so an accumulated effect occurs over time. In order to make educated decisions about the products we purchase, we need to be aware of the dangers of common chemicals being used in many mainstream products used every day.
BABY CARE PRODUCTS & CHEMICALS:
In February 2008, an article in The Sun-Herald warned: 'Parents of young babies have been warned to reduce the use of talcum powder, shampoo and lotions after a study linked them to high levels of hormone-altering chemicals in infants. US researchers found that as the use of baby care products rose so did the concentration of phthalates - man-made chemicals that affect the development of the reproductive system.' If you're a parent of young children, I recommend you read this article by Louise Hall, Health Reporter for The Sun-Herald: Chemical Alert for Babies
Another informative article written by Ruth Pollard for Sydney Morning Herald looks at the effects of toxic chemicals on young children : For our small fry the hazards are so much greater
CHEMICAL REGULATION:
An eye opening article about the management of chemicals in Australia was published last year in the Sydney Morning Herald (Debra Jopson and Ruth Pollard, 22/10/2007) including this excerpt:
'The National Chemicals Working Group has warned that ‘federal regulators may not be considering chemicals’ effects ‘on the ground’ when calculating any risks to human health and the environment because there is no national system to alert them to emerging problems.’
Further : ‘ “The issues that are emerging, such as endocrine disruptors, persistence and bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals and the range of chemicals being found in human blood, are complex and need to be carefully managed”, the group warned.’
Link to the archived article: Name your poison - youll find its legal
In the words of Devra Davis, Director of the Centre for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in the US, and author of ‘The Secret History of the War on Cancer’,
“People have a right to know whether products they use on themselves and their children contain compounds that increase their risk of disease. They also have a right to expect that government will prevent companies from selling products that are harmful to children." Read more from Devra Davis at www.devradavis.com.
One of the most globally recognised cancer prevention experts, Dr Samuel S. Epstein, Chairman, Cancer Prevention Coalition and author of many publications including ‘The Safe Shoppers Bible’, says:
“Mainstream industry products pose significant public health risks, particularly reproductive and cancer. The role of these avoidable exposures in the escalating incidence of cancer, now striking nearly one in two men and over one in three women in their lifetimes, remains largely unrecognised by our apparently health conscious society. Armed with such information, consumers should protect themselves by shopping for safe alternative products available from the growing non-mainstream industry.”
You can read more about the research and findings of Dr S. Epstein at www.preventcancer.com
It is unbelievable that so many products available on our supermarket shelves and used every day contain a cocktail of unregulated and often untested toxins. If government regulators are not going to stop the manufacture and retail of toxic ingredients or at least ensure appropriate product labelling then there is one solution we can all support – simply stop buying unsatisfactory products.
I recommend purchasing a copy of The Chemical Maze to carry with you when you shop. It will help you to decode the ingredients listed on product labels and enable you make better purchasing decisions, not just with personal care products but food additives as well.
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