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With Breast Cancer Month looming upon us this October we wanted to highlight the issue further by conducting a Q&A session with some of the biggest Breast Cancer websites and bloggers across the internet, hopefully answering some important questions and giving expert advice in combatting the issues of parabens and ultimately the fight against breast cancer.

Panel:

Stacy Malkan, Author of ‘Not Just a Pretty Face’ - Health Care Without Harm

“To transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment” - The Campaign for Environmentally Responsible Health Care.

Pauli Ojea, Community Organiser - Breast Cancer Action

“Breast Cancer Action carries the voices of people affected by breast cancer to inspire and compel the changes necessary to end the breast cancer epidemic” - Challenging Assumptions. Inspiring Change.

When did you first become aware of the issues and dangers surrounding the body health debate/ parabens?

Stacy Malkan: Many animal studies conducted over the past several years show that parabens have estrogenic effects on the body. The cosmetics industry’s own safety panel classifies parabens as known endocrine disruptors. Our concern about parabens is that these estrogenic chemicals are widely used in so many products. On any given day, most people are exposed to multiple parabens at unknown concentration levels. For example, when I researched my teenage beauty routine, I learned that I had been exposing myself to two dozen parabens a day, just from beauty products, before even getting on the school bus. The companies are not considering these real-world exposure levels.

Pauli Ojea: It was around 2002 that this issue first came on our radar. In early 2003, we launched our first public awareness campaign regarding the connection between parabens and phthalates in cosmetics and breast cancer. The campaign was targeted specifically around cosmetics companies that used these harmful ingredients while at the same time marketing themselves as companies that care about breast cancer. We call these two-timing companies pinkwashers.

What do you see as the major dangers facing the population with regards to chemicals used in cosmetics?

Stacy Malkan: The major danger is the routine exposure to the many toxic chemicals used in personal care products. Many products we rub on our bodies on a daily basis – from lotion and deodorant, to soap and even baby shampoo – contain low levels of carcinogens, hormone-disrupting chemicals, and/or chemicals that are toxic to the brain, skin or other bodily organs. Recent science shows that even low doses of certain chemicals can interfere with normal bodily functions and contribute to disease. (Two good resources on current science: http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/ and http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/) Chemicals can also act synergistically, causing increased toxicity. The companies continue to say their products are safe, but there are no laws requiring cosmetic companies to understand the health effects of the chemicals they are using.

Pauli Ojea: Many of these chemicals are linked to breast cancer and reproductive problems. And the major danger is that these are products that we use many of, multiple times a day. Think about how many different body care products you use in one day and how many times a day you use them. In addition, we are also exposed to harmful chemicals in our air, food, water, and other consumer products. These little exposures add up over time, and may be having very serious impacts on our health.

Do you think the government and other agencies are doing enough to combat the issues being discussed?

Stacy Malkan: Absolutely not! The current regulatory system is broken. Companies are allowed to put nearly any chemical in personal care products with no required safety testing, no follow up health monitoring, and without disclosing all the product ingredients. The current system rewards ignorance, works against innovation and disadvantages companies that are doing the right thing. As long as companies can hide toxic ingredients in their products, as long as consumers are confused and have a difficult time telling the difference between safe and toxic products, it’s easy for the big companies to keep using the same old toxic chemicals rather than switching to safer alternatives.

Pauli Ojea: The government must do a better job at protecting people from harm.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the government entity that is responsible for regulating chemicals in cosmetics in the United States. According to its web site:
• The FDA cannot regulate or require companies to do safety testing of their cosmetic products before they are released to the marketplace. Neither cosmetic products nor cosmetic ingredients are reviewed or approved by FDA before they are sold to the public.
• The FDA does not have the authority to require manufacturers to register their cosmetic establishments, file data on ingredients, or report cosmetic-related injuries. The FDA maintains a voluntary data collection program, and only those cosmetic companies that wish to participate in the program forward data to FDA.
• The FDA is not permitted to require recalls of cosmetics. They can only monitor a company once it voluntarily decides to conduct a product recall.
• If the FDA wishes to remove a cosmetic product from the market, it must first prove in a court of law that the product may be injurious to users, improperly labelled, or otherwise violates the law.
As a result, many cosmetics that contain harmful chemicals currently go to market without any kind of safety testing. If it is later determined that a product is truly harmful, the FDA cannot simply remove it from the market, even though many people may already be using it. The FDA bears the cost and burden of proving that a chemical is harmful, when it should be the cosmetic companies that have to prove their products are safe before releasing them to market.

Could you recommend any other useful sites/ blogs of use to our readers?

Stacy Malkan: Check out the Skin Deep database at www.cosmeticdatabase.org. Sign up for action alerts at the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, www.safecosmetics.org. My blog is at www.NotJustaPrettyFace.org

Pauli Ojea: The following web sites have good information to help guide consumers who are looking for healthier products:

www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
-This web site, created by the Environmental Working Group, is a searchable database evaluating the safety of thousands of different body care products
www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org
-This web site, created by our organization, Breast Cancer Action, lists companies that do not use parabens and/or phthalates. It also includes links to scientific studies and other resources regarding this issue.
www.bcaction.org
-This web site is Breast Cancer Action’s main web page, and there is significant information there regarding cosmetics, as well as other environmental health and other breast cancer-related issues.
www.safecosmetics.org
-This is the web page for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which urges cosmetics companies to make healthier products.

Is there any further advice or information that you could share with regards to particular brands or products that could or should be avoided?

Stacy Malkan: The best advice is, simpler is better. Choose products with fewer synthetic chemicals, use fewer products overall and try to avoid “fragrance” which is a synonym for “unknown chemical soup.” Take an especially close look at bubble baths, children’s products, body lotions and anything we are exposed to in larger amounts on a daily basis. The good news is, there are safer alternatives out there in every product category, and they work just as well as conventional brands. Skin Deep is a good resource for finding products with lower toxicity. www.cosmeticdatabase.org