History of "safe" products list

For years and years these products were all declared safe in the US, that there were no problems at all. And then the lawsuits started, one after the other. Each link below links to a story about the substance.

1. Asbestos.
2. Aspartame.
3. Bisphenol-A.
4. Cigarettes.
5. Food adulteration in the US.
6. Lead.
7. Thalidomide.

Other items the US gov't said was "safe": 2,4-d (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, a herbicide), acetamiprid, Agent Orange, asbestos, aspartame, cigarettes, DDT, DES, diazinon, epoxiconazole, flame retardant in the US, fluroxypyr, fracking, Glyphosate, imidacloprid, isoproturon, lead paint, malathion, mercury fillings, microbeads, organophosphates, parathion, PCBs, pirimicarb, prochloraz, tebuconazole, tetrachlorvinphos, thalidomide, Vioxx.

Victorian toxins

Toxins and coverups by business: it's happened before.

If you think business covering for poisonous substances is something new, think again. This has been going on since the 1800s and even earlier. However, the 1800s is when science begins to actually prove how harmful the Victorian "patent medicines", makeup, and other substances are.

1. Lead compounds were used in white face cream. Lead compounds were favored because they made very white tints. But lead was absorbed into the skin and poisoned people. 
2. In Roman times, Romans used white lead to whiten their faces, and red lead for a bit of red. 
3. Radium was used to make glowing watch faces until it was discovered the workers, mostly women, who painted the watch faces, came down with serious cancers in the jaw area. 
4. "Other popular blooms, balms, powders and potions of the 19th and early 20th century such as Berry’s Freckle Ointment, Milk of Roses, Snow White Enamel and Flake White contained mercury, lead, carbolic acid, mercuric chloride and a handful of other “delightful” corrosives."
5. In the US there were radium baths, arsenic complexion wafers, cigarettes for asthma. 
6. In the US there were also water holders with radium to "infuse" the water with energy. Alas, the wrong kind of energy. 
7. Mascara and other eye products contained mercury. 
8. Even now we find phthalates in shampoos, face creams, fragrances, aftershaves, deodorants. 
9. One article advised women to coat their faces with opium at night, with a brisk wash of ammonia in the morning. 
10. The look of near-death was popular. Women would sometimes put belladonna drops in their eyes, and some went blind from it. 
11. "Sears & Roebuck sold a popular product called Dr. Rose’s Arsenic Complexion Wafers, which were just that–little white chalk wafers filled with arsenic for delicate nibbling. They were specifically advertised as “perfectly harmless."
12. Vermillion, a red mercury compound, was a known poison but also used for lip tint. 
13. It wasn't until 1977 that a new US law required makeup manufacturers to print all ingredients on the item.

Products in the US were unregulated until the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act which passed in 1906. But it was 25 years in the making as business, like now, lobbied against the law which could cut into profits, and prevent people from dying a horrible death.



For more reading: 

1. "100,000,000 Guinea Pigs." Arthur Kallet and Frederick Schlink.  1933.
2. "American Chamber of Horrors." Ruth DeForest Lamb, chief education officer of FDA. 1936. 
3. "Banned: A history of pesticides and the Science of Toxicology." Frederick Rowe Davis. 2014. From Google Books. 
4. "The Great American Fraud." Samuel Hopkins Adams. A book about the evils of patent medicine. Various formats here.

Sources

1. "Suffering for Beauty has Ancient Roots." NBC, Jan 11, 2008. 
2. "Hidden Killers" TV series on Youtube. 
3. "The Poisonous Beauty Advice Columns of Victorian England." Link here.

Historical Prevalence of Multiple Chronic Conditions in America

1. About 25% of adult Americans have more than one chronic condition (Multiple Chronic Condition = MCC). Over 66% of health care spending is for this 25% of people with MCC.
2. About 66% of Medicare users have MCC.
3. About 75% of people age 65 or older have MCC.

Multiple Chronic Conditions (MCC) are clearly a huge problem in America, one that will not be solved by universal or single-payer healthcare. Most of these health problems are from a lifetime of bad choices. When there is no substantial disciplinary result for bad behavior, bad behavior continues ad infinitum.

Chronic conditions include: Alzheimer's and related dementia, arthritis, asthma, atrial fibrillation, autism disorders, some cancers, chronic kidney disease, depression, diabetes, heart failure, hepatitis B & C, HIV and AIDS, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease, osteoporosis, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, stroke.

These conditions are likely based on inflammation: asthma, some cancers, high blood pressure, stroke.

These conditions are possibly caused by inflammation: Alzheimer's and dementia, depression. 

High Blood Pressure and Depression continues to go up between 2004 and 2013.  (Google Spreadsheet.)

Heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, cerebrovascular disease (contributes to stroke), and diabetes  are the 5 leading causes of death in the US and they account for 50% of the deaths in the US. [2]

There are very simple and inexpensive treatments for these top 5:

1. Get regular exercise. 
2. Eat better foods. 
3. Lower intake of sugar, salt. 
4. Lose weight to be your doctor-specified weight. 
5. Eat only organic foods. Your food bill will go up a bit, but your medical bill will drop drastically. 

While some people are genetically predisposed to certain things like diabetes or high blood pressure, that is not an excuse for treating the body like a trash dump, or being lazy. These people simply have to work harder to become healthy. The cost of a lifetime of bad choices continues to put a strain on government benefits and taxes on citizens. Hopefully more people will start treating their bodies better to reduce the cost of their own health care.


Source
[1] HHS on Multiple Chronic Conditions. Last accessed Apr 9, 2016.
[2] Ford, E. S., Croft, J. B., Posner, S. F., Goodman, R. A., & Giles, W. H. (2013). Co-Occurrence of Leading Lifestyle-Related Chronic Conditions Among Adults in the United States, 2002-2009. Preventing Chronic Disease, 10, E60. http://doi.org/10.5888/pcd10.120316.
[3] Obesity rates over time. Table 64. 1988-1994 and 2009-2012. CDC.