May 10, 2000 / The Brantford Expositor / Editorial / Letter
Cheryl Forchuk, President, Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk Chapter of the Registered
Nurses Association of Ontario, writes that recently a major bank sent its
credit card customers an ad with an interesting offer. If the credit card
was used to purchase pesticides a 10 per cent discount and $100 in coupons
for further chemical savings could be had.
Forchuk says it is disturbing to see such promotion of an unhealthy practice
as yet another illness is being linked to pesticide use. Saturday's
Expositor reports on a study linking Parkinson's disease to the use of
pesticides in the home. Previous correlational studies and animal studies
have, says Forchuk, linked pesticide use to such problems as breast cancer
and childhood leukemia. Ironically, in the ad from the bank, a young girl
is seen clutching a small bouquet of flowers. This girl would be
particularly at risk if her parents accept the bank's offer. The links to
breast cancer are considered most pronounced for girls exposed prior to
puberty.
Similar issues existed at one time around public awareness and tobacco. For
both tobacco and pesticides, companies have pointed to the lack of absolute
proof as they continue to sell these products. It took over 30 years before
there was absolute conclusive data linking tobacco to the health risks it
poses.
Similarly, studies linking pesticides and disease are not the "gold
standard" of research -- a randomized clinical trial involving humans. This
would require that individuals agree to be randomly exposed to pesticides
and then see if more disease is produced in the decades that follow. Such a
study would not get through ethical clearance.
As with tobacco, the public can be mislead by the legality of pesticide
products. Some assume since they are legal they must be safe. When a major
bank entices its customers to use pesticides they are contributing to this
illusion of safety, and potentially compromising the health of the
community.
(posted without permission)
