Consumer products poisoning people

Sadly, bad news never seems to leave consumers alone in this country. The recent report of a study done by the 'Environment al and Social Development Organisation (ESDO) in collaboration with the Wonjin Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health (WIOEH) of South Korea' as carried by this paper says that alarming levels of paraben in toothpaste, handwash and skin care products has been found in Bangladesh. Paraben is known to be a chemical additive and the presence of high levels of this chemical plays havoc with the body's endocrine system, something that is vital for regulating hormones. Apparently, this chemical belongs to a group of compounds that is used as a preservative in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics, as well as the food industry. The problem isn't there. As found by the study conducted by the institutes, samples from Bangladeshi products were compared to similar products from seven other countries to get an estimate about what the levels of the chemical is in local products. Unfortunately, the level of paraben in domestically produced items was found to have the highest concentration of the said chemical in personal care products.

Now, care products range from hand wash to beautification. With the advent of Covid-19, the use of handwash became synonymous with people across the nation as a way to rid themselves of unwanted germs. That trend has continued and handwash sales have stayed high in the post-covid period because it also allows for convenience as containers can be refilled using liquid soap and re-used several times. Hand soaps are considered to be an evolution over the bar soap and has been widely accepted for use at homes, restaurants, hotels, commercial establishments and so on.

Again, going by what has been published in this newspaper, "cosmetics and personal care products often contain different types of paraben as preservatives because they are effective and affordable." The problem in Bangladesh is oversight. The regulatory mechanism and enforcement of health guidelines are simply not followed in many sectors because of a lack of monitoring and enforcement. The penalty system that exists for law breakers and errant companies favours those establishments and not the consumers. The legal situation is one of great complexity and lengthy and hence litigation against companies that are caught endangering public health get lost in the milieu of hundreds or thousands of other cases that take precedence over the consumers' right to safe products.

That this dangerous chemical has been found to be widely prevalent in daily usage products like toothpaste and handwash needs to be treated seriously. This is a public health issue. Had the tests been done in the country, they could be discounted but they were done in foreign laboratories and hence negligence or unprofessionalism can largely be discounted.While many other nations have forbidden the very use of paraben in the products mentioned here, the many variations of paraben continue to see wide usage in the country. There is a general tendency to trash foreign reports as propaganda against the State and one must wait to see if health authorities will take this study seriously or not.

The government needs to upgrade its own testing facilities and revamp the safety regime that govern consumer products in Bangladesh. This is but one study that has found non-permissible levels of chemicals that are increasingly being banned in other countries because they are deemed to be a public health hazard issue. The general tendency in this country has been to sweep issues like this under the carpet. One can only hope that the present leadership in the ministry of health will look out for the safety of the general populace over that of profits.