While real health threats abound, including smoking, obesity, diabetes, vaccine denialism and its attendant epidemics, Alzheimer’s Disease — just to name a few most in need of consciousness-raising through effective public health education — many seemingly responsible, respected groups and spokesmen have decided instead to take the easy path to fear-mongering and alarmism. We learned in the Sunday Times about the dangers of toxic flame retardants. Well, that subject was at least covered in a section recently added, called Retro Report, which might lead one to believe it was just a trip down bad old memory lane. Nope. The article was written by Clyde Haberman, well-known as the “NYC” columnist at the Times. He has perhaps gotten a demotion to the “cancer-scares” area. ACSH has a publication on flame-retardants, and the drum-banger on this topic has usually been Nick Kristof. To summarize: flame-retardants in household furniture save lives, and the scientific literature provides no cause for the “health concerns” that crop up like weeds every so often in the popular press. Read more.
NY Times: Scaring the Public about Nothing
