How everyday plastics slowly destroy our health

Plastics have been linked to rising breast cancer cases, sparking urgent health concerns

It is time perhaps to think twice before picking up that plastic-wrapped apple or on-the-go single-use plastic water bottle at your neighbourhood supermarket. A new study has brought bad news and, in the tug-of-war between evolving research and the urgency to find a cure for serious illnesses like cancer, it adds a third dimension — the consequences of man-made disaster.

More than 400 chemicals found in everyday plastics are linked to breast cancer, says the report, leading to questions on whether this could be a factor in the dramatic increase of breast cancer in women under the age of 50.

This latest information also breaks away from the conventional where medical breakthroughs and treatment are left squarely on the shoulders of researchers, scientists and doctors. Instead, another partner — not a silent one — now makes up the trio.

But are we, the citizens, willing to stop cherry-picking our way through the health care debate and make social responsibility its non-negotiable feature? The numbers are out there. American Cancer Society says the steepest increase in breast cancer is before women hit their fifth decade.

The plastic argument is like an unrolling ball of wool because it is not just what meets the eye. Several flagged chemicals like PFAs, phthalates and parabens are household names and can be found beyond the usual suspects like shampoos and Teflon-coated pans. Daily exposure to food packaging, kitchenware and personal care products is like layers of a pyramid. For some, the study says it is unfortunately tilting towards the oncologist’s office.

Potential medical breakthrough

Caveat: in the age of TikTok and Instagram reels where even unverified medical advice trends, I remain cautious and old school. These findings have been shared generously by doctors including oncologists and bring further alarming news for women. They are twice as likely to be diagnosed with cancer before 50 than men.

And yet reports of a potential medical breakthrough through an experimental mRNA cancer vaccine have received as much interest as an outcry of derision. The reaction to dismiss it as another ‘Big Pharma’ conspiracy is not dissimilar to that of the Covid-19 anti-vax lobby.

As a woman with a family history of breast cancer, I can tell you perspectives realign when it hits closer home. It strengthens faith in science but with the acknowledgement that many other factors play a supporting role.

To tackle the cancer epidemic, we need a symphony of research, pre-emptive vaccines as in the case of cervical cancer and proactive diagnosis. Importantly, women — whether marginalised, poor or belonging to developing nations with limited access to health care — should not be allowed to fall through the gaps.

Plastic is ubiquitous, there is no denying that it has revolutionised the daily grind, be it the kitchen or industrial production. Consciously and unknowingly, it has leeched into our lifestyles, and it is far easier to maintain the status quo than pry open the pandora’s box whether from our shelves or our public conscience.

Images of a young whale starved to death after almost 90 pounds of plastic in her body move us but not enough that we ponder how it ingested plastic in such large amounts in the wide, blue ocean.

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Absence of regulation

A database of chemicals in plastic production — the first of its kind — is now public information. Spotlighting 3600 toxic but unregulated chemicals, the PlastChem report points to a key loophole, lack of risk details. With these grave warnings, plastic products need to make full disclosure much like the list of ingredients on the cover of a food item.

The outlook towards plastic falls in the same category as India’s pollution crisis. In both instances, a lack of political will and influential lobbies come together to stonewall attempts to regulate respective industries. The reality is, that we are at a stage where a ban on plastic bags is environment friendly, but it overlooks what goes inside the package and our bodies.

If not degradable the convenience of recycling or single-use, is, to put it bluntly, plastic pollution. It is a scourge of the environment and as per the latest findings, also of our bodies. In the absence of regulation, which is sporadic at best, there is no challenge to its wide, universal use.

All dialogue on the widespread use of plastic follows the footpaths of global climate talks, defined more by disengagement than honest progress. After two years the UN-backed plastic treaty negotiations have broken down and adjourned to 2025. There is no guarantee of the inevitability of a final agreement with the US backtracking from its stand of caps on plastic production endorsed by nations like the United Kingdom and Norway.

Away from the individual priorities of nations, scientists and experts work tirelessly to keep us ahead of the curve. ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink it’ but between prevention and cure, we know which side is loaded. The rise in cancers in the younger demographics and the havoc that plastic potentially plays cannot be ignored. It is no longer the intangible, heard and unseen.

‘Life in plastic; it’s fantastic,’ sounds catchy but the song belongs in the movies. Ordinary, real life is transactional. Fight for the best bargain, if not for others, at least for yourself.

Jyotsna Mohan

@jyotsnamohan

Jyotsna Mohan is the author of the investigative book ‘Stoned, Shamed, Depressed’. She was also a journalist with NDTV for 15 years