The Problem with Plastic Bags

The plastic bags we get at the grocery store, office supply store, electronic store, etc., will exist on earth for 1,000 years before decomposing. The bags' petroleum-based plastic contaminate the environment and the food chain.

-September 2007 San Francisco banned plastic bags

-July 2010 Los Angeles will ban plastic shopping bags from stores

-China put a nationwide ban on plastic bags beginning June 1st, 2008 saving China 37 millions barrels of oil a year

-Bangladesh already bans plastic bags along with 30 remote Alaskan villages

-South Africa, Ireland & Taiwan tax shoppers or charge fees on companies that distribute plastic bags

Not only do plastic bags cause environmental dangers and use valuable oil, they are dangerous to our bodies. Exposure to plastics whether it is through the food chain or in our environment, is disruptive to our hormones acting like estrogen in our bodies. Estrogen-like compounds called xenohormones are one of the main reasons for the high numbers of breast & prostate cancer, infertility, PMS, precocious puberty, and problems with gall bladder, thyroid and adrenal glands.

You can make a big impact on your health and your environment by getting plastic bags out of your life

Ban Drug Ads on Television

I received an email from a colleague on a topic that I feel very strongly about. We are inundated with pharmaceutical ads on our TV everyday encouraging patients to "Ask your doctor about...". With the recall of many drugs like Vioxx and Baycol, it is obvious that the FDA isn't doing enough to fully research drugs before releasing them to the public.

The United States is the only country IN THE WORLD that allows pharmaceutical companies to advertise on television. We have 5% of the world's population and take 75% of the world's medications. The link below allows you to send an email to my member of Congress urging their support of a new bill that would ban advertising of new prescription drugs for three years.

While I feel it doesn't do enough by completely banning all pharmaceutical ads, it is a start and allows time to address safety problems before the drugs become well known and patients are asking their doctors for the drug. The bill also would require a toll-free number on all TV drug ads so we can easily report serious side effects to the FDA. The more quickly the agency knows about dangerous side effects, the more quickly it can get unsafe medications off the market.

I hope you will take 30 seconds and participate.

http://www.prescriptionforchange.org/

Starting a Blog

I have decided to set up a blog to share important health information that I come across along with answering common questions from friends, family and patients

I hope you find it helpful