As reported by CNN on Oct 12, 2021, according to NYU, a new study demonstrates that daily exposure to phthalates may be causing nearly 100,000 premature deaths every year in the US, costing somewhere from $40 billion to $47 billion, a figure more than four times previous estimates.
Phthalates are a chemical added during the manufacturing process to make plastics soft and bendable. They have long been known to cause all sorts of serious health effects, including cancer, but this new study of more than 5,000 adults between the ages of 55 and 64 showed that those with the highest concentrations of phthalates in their urine were more likely to die of heart disease than those with lesser exposure and more likely to die of any cause than those in low-exposure groups.
Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a professor of pediatrics, environmental medicine, and population health at NYU Langone Health in New York City, is the lead author of the research study. We thank the research team for bringing this important information to light.
So what can you do to protect yourself and your loved ones?
- Stop buying plastic things.
- Look around your home and work and replace all the plastic in your life with non-plastic alternatives. (See our shop for ideas and links to the items we use.)
- Buy clean cosmetics. We have links to our favorite Personal Care and Cosmetics in our Shop.
- Sepora has a new category called “Clean” which has options for makeup, skincare and hair products. This category of products includes “brands formulated without phthalates, formaldehyde or formaldehyde releasers, oxybenzone and octinoxate, and more.”
- Check the Environmenatl Working Group’s Consumer Guide for Cosmetics called Skin Deep”.
