The Environmental Working Group (EWG) responded to the President's Cancer Panel's (PCP) that found American "public officials have ‘grossly underestimated' the likelihood that environmental contaminants trigger a large proportion of the cancers diagnosed," by recommending nine ways to avoid environmental carcinogens.
Ken Cook, president of EWG, said in the announcement, "consumers can't wait for the government to take action, or for companies to act responsibly by removing carcinogens from their products."
Here are nine tips to reduce your exposure:
1. Filter your tap water: http://www.ewg.org/tap-water.
2. Seal outdoor wooden decks and play sets: http://www.ewg.org/reports/allhandsondeck.
3. Cut down on stain- and grease-proofing chemicals (also known as fluorochemicals): http://www.ewg.org/Health-Tips.
4. Stay safe in the sun: http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen.
5. Cut down on fatty meat and high-fat dairy products.
6. Eat EWG's Clean 15: http://www.foodnews.org.
7. Cut your exposures to BPA: http://www.ewg.org/bpa/tipstoavoidbpa.
8. Avoid carcinogens in cosmetics: http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com, don't buy products with "PEG" or "-eth" in their name.
9. Read the warnings: products will increasingly begin to have "cancer-causing" labels.
Cancer was the leading cause of death worldwide (13 percent) in 2007, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and the U.S. National Cancer Institute reports that two-thirds of cancers cases are due to environmental factors.
WHO also estimates that by 2030. 12 million deaths will be caused by cancer worldwide.
Relaxnews/AFP
