Toxicity of Plastics.. Consumer Association of Penang

It may have been in 2004, I had gone across to Johor Bahru to relieve the tedium, when I ran into a Book Exhibition inside a Hindou temple.. Intrigued I walked in, and there were many books in various languages, Tamoul being the predominant one. There I came across a small booklet TOXICS IN PLASTICS What dangers and which plastics to avoid. It was published by a group of people based in Penang, called Consumer Association of Penang. This little book had a great impact upon me, it had cost me 2 malaysian ringgis, fifty US cents at that time. It prodded me to read more about it and as an Endocrinologist I was able to use much of the information given in the booklet and did further research to find the toxicity in plastics. I gave a lecture in 2005 to a group, pointing out at that time that Precocious Puberty in young girls may have something to do with Plastics and that plastics may have contributed to the the high prevalence of obesity and Diabetes.
At first I was laughed at by my colleagues but by 2008, there were more mumblings and by 2010 it was accepted that many chemicals in the plastics, such as BPA were dangerous to health. In 2008, during a trip to Penang, partially motivated by a desire to meet the director SM Mohamed Idris, I visited the CAP office and spent a delightful hour with Mr Idris. A remarkable man in the tradition of Gandhi, with a philosophy as profound as Dalai Lama, working tirelessly for the sake of the health of Malaysians and through people like me, for the health of the people all over the world.

I urge all the readers and my friends to visit their website
http://www.consumer.org.my/
you will see the array of books they have published on a wide variety of subjects that affect society and humanity.
One of these days, they would consider Mr Idris for a Nobel Peace Prize. It is noteworthy that the corrupt and untrustworthy politicians with limited visions of the future wanted the expulsion and silencing of CAP and Mr Idris including Mr Mahathir Mohammed that venomous son of an Indian Migrant and Malay Mother who sprouted sick pronouncements against all things non Malay during his reign as Prime Minister.
I was thinking of all this when I was reading Endocrine News September 2011 which I receive as part of the membership of the Endocrine Society. The following article caught my attention
Rudel R A, Gray JM, Engel CL et al. Food packaging and bisphenol A and bis(2,Ethy-hexu)phthalate exposure. Findings from a dietary intervention. Environ Health Perspec, 2011 119-914w-920
Many food items-from canned peas to throw-away forks-are packaged in or eaten with plastic products. So any one wanting to limite their exposure to the endocrine disrupting chemicals frequently embedded in plastic products, BPA and DEHP would do well to shun plastic linked to eating.
In an 8-day study of 5 families (parents and two children), participants at prepared fresh foods(intervention diet as free fo plastic as possible) for days 3-5. In the two days before and after the intervention diet, they ate their normal food.
At the end of intervention, urine BPA levels were on the average 60% lower and phthalates about 55% lower than the subjects' regular levels, which were similar to those of the general U.S.population. These chemicals can enter the body in ways unrelated to food, for instance BPA from shopping receipt paper and DEHP from cosmetics.

CAP booklets to get:

TOXICS IN PLASTICS as mentioned above
COSMETICS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS more dangers and side effects
THE REAL THING IN SOFT DRINKS: malnourishment, obesity, osteoporosis

KUDOS TO THE VISIONARY MR IDRIS FOR HIS VISION TO HELP FELLOW MALAYSIANS AND OTHER PEOPLE OF THE WORLD