BaKhabar, July 2010, Page-4

better light a candle than curse the darkness

Harmful products in day-to-day lives

- - Md. Aziz Haider, Editor-in-Chief, Life Watch

Gone are the days when the famous poet Saghar Khaiyami wrote:
‘Dhaniye mein ghore kee leed baniye milayenge;
woh din nahin hai door jab hum hinhinayenge’.
Today, we cannot say for sure whether the milk we are giving to children is cow’s milk or has been made from chemicals. The watermelons that we relish as sweet are in fact injected by chemicals. Bananas, mangoes and other fruits that we eat for nutritional benefits have been sprayed or dipped in harmful chemicals. Mustard oil is in most cases mixed with other ingredients and the only thing that varies from brand to brand is the percentage of these ingredients.

The list of potentially harmful chemicals in food items and household products is long. We are greatly exposed to all types of harmful chemicals that exist in food items, personal care products and even in the environment. Everyday household products, including soaps, shampoos, cosmetics, toothpastes and cleansers may contain harmful chemicals.

More and more products are being discovered as having harmful chemicals in them which, over time, penetrates to the inside of our bodies. Studies now are finally being done to link many health conditions to these chemicals such as:
* Increase in Cancer
* Decrease in sexual re productivity
* Changes in hormonal activity
* Neurological Disorders

Increased cases of renal failures, lever disorders, high blood pressures and heart attacks too are linked to the presence of harmful chemicals in day-to-day lives and our changing lifestyles.

There are other related problems as well. Penchant for enhancing profits has made companies put ethics on the shelf. Sale of fake products is on the rise and we have been unable to develop any fool-proof checking mechanism so far. Companies are putting different list of ingredients on labels than the content. They are spending huge money on highlighting certain USPs of the products but are not at all speaking of the harms that the same products may cause to the consumer. Drugs that may cause great harm upon prolonged use are being treated as OTC products and hugely advertised so much so that we are aware of cases where such drugs were advertised even in IPL 20-Twenty. Naturally, such advertisements are being released to invite new consumers, without bothering to tell the harms that these products may cause. Cases of fooling the consumers through deceitful and wrong information too are many.

And there is a third aspect: ignorance of the consumers may cause great harm. For instance, if you have taken Vitamin C (which is good for you), then you should avoid soft drinks like Fanta, Diet Coke, Sprite and Pepsi Max. These drinks contain Sodium Benzoate. A chemical reaction between Vitamin C and Sodium Benzoate creates Benzine, a highly Carcinogenic chemical which has the ability to severely damage the DNA in the Mitochondria to the point that it totally inactivates it, knocks it out altogether. The Mitochondria consumes oxygen to give energy, and if this gets damaged, then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously, often fatally, a whole array of diseases has been tied to the damage to the DNA, including Parkinson’s Disease and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases. Is it not time that our soft drink manufacturers that put Sodium Benzoate as ingredient should be told to put the warning on the label?

Not long ago, this Life Watch correspondent had carried a cover feature on the chemical reaction (explosion) which takes place inside the stomach if we take Mentos (or any other product containing mint) with Diet Coke. This explosion is caused by presence of Aspartame in diet drinks along with Acelsultame

F. Aspartame poisoning has been scientifically linked to 92 symptoms of disease.

Most European countries have forbidden the importing and use in their country of Aspartame including all makes of Saccharin, (examples: Equal, Nutra-Sweet, Spoonful and Diet Drinks), including 6,000 consumer goods and beverages, sold on the shelves. Yet, penchant to earn quick buck has not stopped us from marketing and selling these consumer goods in market. Even children are being exposed to the risks when Saccharin and other similar products are profusely used in Ice-Creams, injections to sweeten water-melons, etc. Unfortunately, our laws are too impotent to check this menace.

Life Watch is the first newspaper in the country that has realized the enormity of the problem. There is a need to create awareness and lead a campaign against the harmful chemicals in day-to-day life. For past several issues, Life Watch is continuing with this campaign. The campaign has generated good response but more needs to be done. There is a need for all concerned citizens of the country to come and join this campaign in public interest and in the interest of their own well-being and that of their children. There is a need to build pressure on the Government to enact laws and to take corrective measures. And there is a need to build pressure against the perpetuators of such serious crime against humanity so that they feel afraid that the arm of the law could reach to them.

We are demanding the following measures to be taken immediately:

> Government should set up one center-cum-scientific lab in each district in the country where anybody can bring the product of his choice like milk, curd, ghee, oil, sweets, ice-creams, etc. if there is any doubt about the authenticity of the product. In order to keep a check on frivolous cases coming up, a price tag should be kept for testing and in case the product is found to be harmful, the complainant should be asked to tell the source from where the harmful product was obtained. As per the present situation, the concerned departments pick up samples when a complaint is received, but the matter is normally patched up and the only looser is the complainant who has to bear the repercussions of the enmity thus created.

> Government should make it mandatory to list the contents on labels, even in cases of items like shampoos, conditioners, hair dyes, toothpastes, etc. besides drugs.

> A proper mechanism should be developed to check the advertisements being released by the manufacturers to see if any false/misleading message is being imparted through the advertisements.

> Strict rules should be framed so that anybody who gets caught playing with the lives of common people is suitably punished. Special courts should be designated for giving quick justice.

> A nodal agency should be made to carry out the aforementioned tasks.

> In case you agree that it is now time to act, kindly get into the act of passing this message to as many people possible.

Email: bakhabar@biharanjuman.org 4