My colleague
Pranay Lal, who coordinates our health and environment unit, got a call from a reader of
this newsletter. The doctor was interested in finding out if the advertisement released by
BPL showing a pregnant woman with a cellphone pressed to her pregnant stomach – had
any medical implications.
What is the impact of cellphones on human bodies? This is a hotly debated issue in
scientific circles and it is clear that the jury is still out of the final decision. On
the one hand studies – many industry sponsored – show that there is little
evidence of a causal relationship between cancer and radiation from cellphones; other
studies suggest that the link exists and is deadly. I don’t intend to discuss the
merits of this specific case with you. Whatever the final verdict on the electromagnetic
pollution and its toxicity, I will discuss two of what I believe are related and critical
issues.
First, is the issue of the role of private funding for public research. There is growing
concern about the need to promote transparency in funding of research that affects public
policy. The growing influence of the drug industry funding on academic research and the
growing number of cases where data are withheld, spun or otherwise manipulated when
results are disadvantageous to the funder is now a frequent and frightening phenomenon. A
recent study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), reveals that
published statistics on new drugs are a scam like Enron.Washington Post wrote how
apharmaceutical company, Pharmacia Corporation, funded a study to show that Celebrex,
a medicine, works better than cheap alternatives such as Ibuprofen.The study collected 12
months of data,
 |
|
DOUBLE
INDEMNITY |
| The US and other developed countries
banned the use of DDT in the ’70s because of its alarming toxicity and possible
carcinogenicity. |
 |
| Despite the ban, India sprayed 7,000
tonnes of DDT in 2001-2002. |
|
| India has consumed 350,000 tonnes of DDT
since 1985, mainly for agricultural and public health purposes. |
|
Studies reveal Indians have one of the
highest body DDT concentrations.
Intensive use of DDT has made mosquitoes resistant to the insecticide. |
|
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
(DDT) remains for the past three decades the preferred method of malaria control in
India. This is despite its ineffectiveness and despite conclusive proof of mosquitoes
showing triple resistance to the insecticides–DDT, benzene hexachloride (BHC) and
malathion. Doubts remain over DDT’s safety and impact on the environment. In the
international arena, the DDT debate continues. In December 2001, the Stockholm convention
banned the use of the "dirty dozen", the 12 deadliest and most persistent
chemicals in the environment. |
 |
DDT
proved to be the most volatile and vexing issue. Some countries demanded the
immediate banning of DDT on account of its harmful environmental and public health
effects, while others supported its use in the control of vector-borne diseases,
particularly malaria. Arguments from pressure groups and malaria experts in India
suggest that in defending DDT’s continued usage, it is better to save people now
from malaria than worry about the deaths due to the poisonous insecticide in the long-run.
|
|
|
|
