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Quotes from
The Safe Shoppers Bible
(Provided by
Shelley Kramer)
From the book " The Safe Shoppers Bible",
published in 1995, by Dr. Samuel Epstein,
MD, and Dr. David Steinman, MD
Published April 2001
"Not a single cosmetic company warns
consumers of the presence of carcinogens
in its products - despite the fact that
several common cosmetic ingredients or their
contaminants are carcinogenic themselves
or are carcinogenic precursors."
"Consumers have an inalienable right
to know what ingredients are in products
they use daily, and to be certain that chemicals
posing chronic health risks will be phased
out when alternatives are available. These
are rights regardless of one's perception
of the risk of the ingredient. Yet walk
down the aisle of any supermarket and you
will quickly see how minimal regulation
has led to grossly inadequate labeling."
"How bad is the situation? Some leading
household products do not disclose to the
consumer that they contain carcinogens,
neurotoxins or other hazardous substances.
Shoppers may choose these products anyway
and may want to continue using them, but
deserve complete labeling information to
make an informed choice."
"Government and industry have failed
abysmally to protect consumer health adequately;
at the very least, they have failed to inform
consumers fully of the hazardous ingredients
used in household products, cosmetics and
foods. This glaring void leaves consumers
at peril, uninformed and feeling powerless
and frightened by the lack of information.
One of the major reasons for our publishing
the Safe Shoppers Bible is to empower you
to transform your lifestyle into one that
is healthier, more natural and in greater
harmony with the health of our environment."
"The major dilemma for consumers anxious
to find safe products is that they do not
know where to turn for information. The
only consumer guides available today stress
homemade alternatives to household products
or point up only those often more expensively
priced brands available through health food
markets and mail order. But most people
today are so busy making a living, taking
care of their children, and doing other
daily chores that they do not have the time
or patience to mix their own household cleaners
or make their own laundry soap and cosmetics."
"The Safe Shoppers Bible is designed
as tool to help shoppers find the safest
foods and consumer products, whether major
or alternative brands. Several thousand
brands of consumer products have been evaluated."
"Occasionally, recommend brands are
available only at health food stores or
through mail order catalogs that specialize
in environmentally safe products. But simply
shopping in a health food store is no guarantee
of buying the safest products or foods.
Many health food stores sell foods grown
with pesticides and consumer products that
are no safe (and often more expensive) than
those found in your favorite major supermarket.
Furthermore, many of their health products
make false or misleading claims."
"The Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC), an independent regulatory agency
created in 1972, is charged with ensuring
that common consumer household products
are safe from unreasonable risk of injury
and death. The CPSC has jurisdiction of
more than fifteen thousand consumer products.
Yet manufacturers of household products
are not required to disclose any of their
hazardous ingredients used in their products.
Federal regulations do require manufacturers
to provide minimal label information, but
not for carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity,
or reproductive effects, which hardly constitutes
adequate disclosure. Disclosure of harmful
ingredients will remain minimal as long
as responsibility for disclosure rests with
manufacturers and government oversight remains
minimal."
"Our goal is to encourage industry
to provide consumers more information and
to produce safer products by reducing reliance
on toxic chemicals."
Quotes from this
book have been provided by Shelley
Kramer who is the Chapter Head for
the Los Angeles Chapter of the Cancer Prevention
Coalition.
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