In his syndicated column, Fox Business News’ John Stossel debunks the myths surrounding the recent claims of adverse health effects associated with bisphenol-A (BPA), a plastic ingredient widely and safely used in many products for over 50 years. Stossel stated that in many cases, the media is responsible for much of this fear-mongering in order to get better ratings. He references “Tapped,” a recent documentary that quotes so-called experts alleging “BPA may be one of the most potent toxic chemicals known to man.”
ACSH staffers have known for a long time that there’s no validity to that statement and that BPA actually saves lives. See our wise words as quoted by Stossel below:
To add to the already growing absurdity, “Tapped” also claims that BPA is causing increases in cancer rates. If that were true then cancer incidence rates would be higher, but the rates are actually flat, says Stossel.
“In fact, cancer incidence rates are down,” says ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross. “All of these myths have been generated by a coterie of ideologically oriented scientists devoted to demonizing BPA. As Stossel points out, all large, carefully designed studies fail to confirm any adverse health effects associated with BPA. This simple fact has been confirmed by every governmental regulatory and scientific body which has studied this chemical.”
“The reality is that any evidence found against BPA is based on ‘novel methodologies,’ as the FDA puts it. These kinds of studies that indict BPA as a health risk are not replicable and they’re not comparable to the ones that for years have shown it to be safe,” adds ACSH’s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan.
