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Subscribe to RSSWomen in at least seven states may have been unwittingly slathering poison on their faces by using mercury-tainted cosmetics, the Food and Drug Administration warned Tuesday.
The products, usually used for lightening skin, are sold as soaps, skin creams, and lotions. In all, the FDA has identified 35 products, most of them manufactured overseas, and most sold in Latino, Middle Eastern, African-American, and Asian neighborhoods.
Mercury poisoning can cause illness and even death, and while the amounts of mercury in the cosmetics is typically low, mercury, like lead and some other poisons, accumulates in the body. Mercury is also readily absorbable through skin. It damages the nervous system and other organs such as kidneys. Consumers could be giving themselves frequent small doses of poison that will eventually lead to symptoms like irritability, tremors, depression, memory problems and changes in hearing and vision.
The concern isn’t just for the user, either. “Mercury can vaporize and people breathe it in,” explained FDA spokesperson Siobhan DeLancey. “That makes it particularly dangerous for infants and small children. They are likely to be picked up and held close to the face. Also, they are so young, and small, and the mercury will accumulate over a lifetime.”
Not all products containing mercury will use the word “mercury” on the labels. According to the FDA, other names, like “mercurous chloride,” “calomel,” “mercuric” and “mercurio” may be listed. Some brand names include Crème Diana, Lulanjina, Fasco and Jiao Li.
For more see the FDA’s web page. DeLancey warned that not every product in a company’s line of cosmetics necessarily contains mercury and that “just because your product is not listed, doesn’t mean that it’s safe.”
People should stop using mercury-tainted products immediately, wash hands and any other body parts that have come into contact with the product, and seal the remaining material in a plastic bag or other leak-proof container. Contact your local environmental health agency for disposal instructions.
If you’ve been using a tainted product, and you or anyone you’ve come into contact with is showing symptoms of mercury poisoning, call your physicians or the Poison Center at 800-222-1222.
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Anyone what to bet where these had been manufactured at?
People need to understand that the products made elsewhere, are done so at the direction of AMERICANS, stop blaming others for corrupt rightwingers
Stop blaming Conservatives for the eneptness of libtards BRAD.
BRAD: You leftist twits always find a way to play the rightwinger card. Get a new narrative asswipe!
Besides the cliche "blame the rightwinger" nonsense, I fail to see why the FDA cares. The Obama administration is actively working to force Mercury CFL bulbs on us. Everybody thinks these little landmines are such wonderful energy saving devices. The truth is, they contain mercury and it only takes a couple to contain a dangerous amount of Mercury. They dim when cold. They tend to crack open when they fail and there's no safe way to dispose of them. This is what people like Brad support by supporting Obama. They want this poison in our homes, just on their terms.
I vote to put battery acid in mideast lotions.
Lets see? anti freeze in the buttochs and boobs and battery acid on the skin and face. Sure? FDA approval......seems the fda is worthless......might want to reform them with a little tar and feather.
Dan--Regular light bulbs are being phased out. You can use CFL if you want to, but there are other options. I like the other options, especially LEDs. It is the case that CFLs probably were encouraged unwisely, and I don't disagree--but there are other options, and the basic idea of doing away with old-fashioned light bulbs wasn't an entirely bad idea.
That being said, I bought a mess of them so that I could get through the period between the phase-out and the development of more cost-effective alternatives. It's not a bad idea. And, yeah, I'm a "libtard."
Well republicans want deregulation. Right?.......Hey take credit will you can get it. According to republicans....dont need to regulate, and after your kids are born, you can just cut your penis off......you will not need it for anything.
lmao @ Dan. That would be a problem if that were the only type of light bulb to buy on the market LOL
Mercury is bad-then mercury is good. Beef is bad no beef is good. Chicken is bad no chicken is good. Seems that we are so played with who is buying whom to what is right or wrong with products. now we have come to another reversal that mercury is not just bad but really bad, shoot the miners from the 1800's California gold rush could have told you that when they used it in their sluice boxs to trap gold dust!
So whom is going to pay us for all the sickness in America now from all the mercury lighting they have pushed down our throats to be clean and green? For all the kids who died or have disability diseases after getting their shots?
Activated Charcoal is a powerful heavy metal remover for the body, cheap and effective.
The law to phase out incandescent light bulbs was signed into law by G. Bush in December 2007. Apologies for introducing actual facts into this discussion.
just a couple FYIs
the Bush admin is the one that signed the lightbulb act... also, you can still buy the same lights you always bought before... they will just be more efficient. you do not need to buy CFls. Please do some research...
Actually, what the FDA management needs is a complete colonoscopy like all the other government administrations! Take a look at what our own chemicals that some cosmetics contain. I work for a company that produces packaging for cosmetic manufacturers. It would make your stomach turn if you read the fine print of what their products contain! Especially hair colors.
How the hell can an ENTIRE planet be in cosmetics?!?!
I don't believe this at all! They think we are dumb like chinese people?
You are delusuonal. You do realize MANY rich corporate heads (like on Wall Street) are left wing Democrats, right?
Your psychosis blinds you. Your jealousy is your ideology.
This is one of the problems. If the FDA can demand that ingredients must be listed, why can't they demand that the company use commonly recognized names when available? Why wouldn't mercury be listed as mercury rather than calomel?
The FDA is not our friend. It's another traitor agency that we are forced to support with our hard-earned taxes.
Lead in the water and mercury in the lotion...an explanation for the debased nature of our discourse? Based on the spelling in some of these posts.......
Let me guess, Another quality product manufactured in RED CHINA
This is not good news... many Asians use the whitening lotions as it is a sign of beauty to be "white." They avoid the sun as well. When I lived in Hong Kong, I went into a cosmetics store and asked the clerk why there were so many whitening products and she explained this to me. She put a little dab of this stuff on the top of my hand and it took all my tan away and my skin was very white in a circle on top of my hand. It stayed that way for hours! Obviously, as a caucasian American, I had no desire to use the product as I would prefer the tan but the Asians love this stuff!
Oh, the wonders of globalization... I work in a lab and see fake certificates of analysis coming from overseas all the time. We don't trust them and recommend to our clients that they don't trust them either.
Honestly this is old news: Cosmetics have been poisonous in the beginning: Lead and Arsenic base in the 1600's,1700's and 1800's. Based on their use and nature cosmetics as a manufactured item will always be subject to dubious cutting edge content as well as contamination. The only way to control this better is catagorize it as a drug or medication.
First of all Mercury, renaming an ingredient is nothing new, they (the manufacturers) are always trying to find a way to rename something to keep it in the products so "we consumers" buy it unknowingly until this world of the internet catches up with them.
Second, if it is a product that is NOT a name brand, don't buy it, if the product is of foriegn extraction and has an English lable slapped on and it's not a product you are familiar with don't buy it.
Third the FDA needs to be revamped and all the food laws changed among other things wrong with the FDA. Unlike other countries who actually regulate the ingredients in the foods, once the FDA passes an ingredient as "food safe" a manufacturer can use it in any food they choose, this is not as easy in other countries.
Fourth, no matter which presidential administration signed the anti-Incandescent Bulbs law has no business in my house, I have been buying up 100 watt and other bulbs us as much as possible. CFL's contain mercury for one and can't be tossed out. CFL's DO NOT last as long as the claim. CFL'S give off bad lighting. Oh, sure LEDs are available and I do have a few of them but the are too expensive to be practicle. So I will keep buying up regular incandescents whenever I can.
Just remember you get what you pay for and not all things sold in the USA are what they seam.
How crazy is this? " The products, usually used for lightening skin...." and then there are people who pay a small fortune for products, tanning beds, suntan lotion to darken their skin?
Is KY Jelly still ok to use?
Guess the Obama FDA hasn't been doing their job....no surprise.
It is so easy to blame the government agencies for not doing their jobs - but when you start to deplete the workforce in those agencies they become less and less capable of doing the oversight they are required to do. The current push to get rid of government employees as "excess" has limited so many of our protection agencies that they are just trying to catch the worst offenders.
We complain about lazy government employees while we ignore our legislators (who earn much more than the average employee who is being let go) who have to have two weeks off for every two weeks they work. I'm not saying to get rid of them, just pay them what they are worth as opposed to what they think they are worth - about half of what they are getting now.
You cannot continue to let government workers go without having a reduction of results. Someone should know that.
Thanks for clearing the record about who instituted the CFL laws. Bush and his cronies were the ones that did that. It would be nice to see those who are blaming President Obama for everything including the original sin, accept that it was the prior administration that brought our country to it's knees in every way possible and stop ranting about what he is doing to try to fix the problems. At least he isn't recommending that we go back to what broke us in the first place.
I'm just saying . . .
Azlan cfl's don't give off bad lighting. We have the bulbs in 2 rooms in our house. It's so annoyingly bright that we don't cut those lights on (and they're 60 watts).
i use hog lard...and bacon grease...i ain't no city slicker...country slicker...
bob - please explain the difference between hog lard and bacon grease. I thought hog lard was made from melted bacon grease.
I am a card carrying member of the GOP and I fully support the Teaparty and we are sick and tired of the federal govt , We need to do away with the FDA. Let capitalism work give them free reign, Let them police themselves, they would never do us any harm for profit..........uuhhh I guess I shoulda read the article...... move along folks nothing to see.... without regulations we are all a bunch of guinea pigsfor the worlds elite
Well,
Besides blaming everyone we each hate, lets look at the idea of Mercury in medicines, since the Romans used the element for all sorts of fun stuff including fountains. The US has done research and our FDA system has decided that for our population it is not a good metal for health and environment. In Asia specifically the Philippines where my wife is from, (and also a very large Christan population) people want to have light skin, and the beaches are empty, except a few white guys roaming around getting a tan.
Some of the recipies for "bleaching" skin from the good ole days contained Mercury. It is no surprise that the unregulated countries use these materials, not everyone onthe planet believes or knows this metal is dangerous, and not everyone on the planet uses the English spelling of Mercury. I think this is simply a discovery to be rectified, and not some evil plot to poison babies.
I am 40 something and remember HS chem lab having 76 pound flasks of Mercury on hand and students would hold it in the hand. Now that is no longer the case, as we learn and change. The entire world doesn't think the same as us and learn as they go too. faster now with faster communication. Lets be glad someone figured this out and is now working toward a safer world.
ODA512, you are suspended for a day for violating rule # 1 of the Code of Honor.
Thanks.
Justmy53andme, don't death wish please. You are suspended for a week for violating rule # 5 of the Code of Honor.
Too my anti-Obama friends who have made comments concerning CFL bulb usage and the push towards energy efficiency in lighting. CFL bulbs are ONE option and YES they contain mercury vapor which is quite hazardous. LED is the better option but is a bit expensive. Do you realize that most household appliances contain mercury? LED screens contain mercury so unless Obama is forcing you to crack and lick your screen keep your conspiracy theory that Obama is trying poison you to yourself.
the point of the article is that the regulatory agencies are having a difficult time performing their jobs due to constant under-funding that BOTH parties are responsible for. The attacks on right-wingers are justified because they are the party currently demonizing regulations and attacking the regulatory agencies. If you like to be poisoned, breathe crappy air, drink tainted water and give your children leaded toys then please continue to vote repugnican or corporate owned democrap. If you don't like the aforementioned dangers then vote accordingly...
AMF
No, they simply want folks to STOP using the incredibly energy inefficient incandescents. But that messes with your narrative of the Obama administration being tyrannical and inept, doesn't it?
Not to mention CFL's and comparable LED lights use from 1/4 to 1/10 the energy, and last 10 times as long.
Go ahead, refuse to use new tech, waste your money on inefficiency and stubborn ignorance.
Cosmetics
"As far as safety testing goes, responsibility lies with the manufacturer in both the US and EU. The difference is that the EU takes a precautionary approach, responding to potentially harmful ingredients, where the US assumes a wait-and-see attitude where a chemical must be “proven” harmful in order to impose regulatory action."
Wait and see? Wait and see what? That Americans are fat, sick, and riddled with cancer and chronic diseases and causes are "supposedly" unknown? Historians will look back at the toxic world we live in propagated by evil greedy coporations and complicit governments and see how this period of history with will make what Hitler did look tame by comparison.
http://blog.organic-remix.com/2011/04/09/us-versus-european-cosmetic-safety-comparison/
Wait! The American Cancer Society needs more money cuz they still can't figure out why 12 % of American women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime...?
http://www.breastcancerfund.org/big-picture-solutions/make-our-products-safe/
Maybe I'm missing something here. What is the product name?
I've been using CFL bulbs the last couple of yrs. & they don't last any different than incandescent bulbs. If you don't believe me get a sharpie & write the date on them. Next to the base they have a perfect place for writing on. I was disapointed considering 1 of them cost more than a 6 pak of incandescent bulbs.
And where in the article is any mention of what the FDA plans to do about it?
I can't speak for your experience stc, but swapped all of the bulbs in my house 3 years ago, saw an immediate 20-25% decrease in my electric bill, and have changed precisely two.
One of which I broke, though that DID suck.
You can still buy incandescents. I wouldnt be surprised if half of your stash meet the guidelines of the "anti incandescent bulbs law"
YOU CAN STILL BUY INCANDESCENTS!!!
THEY ARE NOT BANNED!!!
THEY ARE STILL ON THE SHELVES!!!
THEY ARE JUST MORE EFFICIENT!!!
I really dont understand why people dont get this...
Careful Becca, he's got his talking point, good luck taking it away.
Regulations...we dont need no stinking regulations...ha!
And when you get poisoned you blame the govt. for not protecting you, moron. And have children with 8 fingers, three noses. At least they will able to smell your stinky self.
And according to santorectum......men will just cut off their penis after producing kids.....no need for it.
This is why you dont buy stuff from out of your country. Some of these products are for certain people and certain races. For example i used some kind of eye burning stuff from japan. While it helped my eyes not be dry anymore, somehow it changed my eye color. And now my eyes are brighter than normal. I think its called Rhoto V or something like that.
We don't...we need harm and fraud to be prosecuted HARSHLY...which we don't do, because we have "regulations".
Who writes the regulations? The companies with the biggest market share in our economy...it's not a coincidence these "regulations" often just limit competition and act as protectionism for the biggest companies.
It's mercantilism 2.0
It is on the label of the product, listed in the ingredients. " HG" what's that? I don't know I was absent that day from school. Look it up? No it must be safe or it would not be sold, and besides I don't have to think because the government is doing that for me.
wow ! Pro, I haven't heard or read the word "mercantilism" in a loooong time. It fits.
Try digesting meat, vegetables.......using cosmetics (even shave cream) in countries without regulations. You will not be a happy camper.
We need MORE regulations on all this imported garbage we now have to deal with. People, mostly for economic reasons, are buying the cheapest product out there. Stuff made in China and other countries without even a hint of regulation. People have even been getting sick from wearing Chinese made underwear that they have not mwashed before the first wearing.
And last, but not least, common sense has gone out the window.
I think witchywoman was being sarcastic.
What will happen when the Chinese learn the rest of the periodic table. Just imagine what they could do with cadmium!
Why isn't the curly light bulb banned by the government as a health hazard? They want to force us to buy these...yet the mercury levels in those are 5x's as that in incandescents. There's 14 steps needed to dispose of them if they break in your house + one has to open their windows and leave their house and then take everything to hazmat. Government isn't the solution, they are the problem!
Thats NO shytt neither, Dikk Tracy!
I heard longgggg time ago that the FDA gets MORE FUNDING (money) from the DRUG companys and food processors that Uncle Sammy gives'um !!! WOW again, Same ol FOX in thaa Chikkken Coop SCENARIO.
Kinda similar to the POLEESe Policing them-selves or mebbe the FAST n' FURIOUS GANG, who izz better know as >>>:thaa BATFE.
Mercury poisoning ... a small price to pay for beauty, eh?
whats wrong with plain old soap n water for goodness sakes everyone knows so called anti wrinkle cream and moisturisers really dont work
Q. Why do women wear makeup and perfume?
A. Because they think (or advertisers have led them to believe) that they're ugly and they smell bad.
Q. Husband - Honey, why do you spend so much money on makeup??? Wife - A. So that I can look good for you.
Q. Wife - Honey, why do you spend so much money on beer??? Husband - A. So that you can look good for me.
sorry denver bill, your post brought this old joke to mind. :)
What's really sad is that these are skin lightening products. So not only are women in general being pressured by advertisers into feeling ugly without beauty products, minority women are made to feel ugly about their natural coloring. Screw advertisers AND cosmetics. Using that stuff is uncomfortable and a waste of money.
chinaaa
ching chong ping pong
Would be nice to actually buy something NOT from there!
Stupid chinks.
Made in Mexico.
Even worse.
Racist. Every opinion you have from here on out is totally irrelevant.
The "stupid Chinks" as you call them have managed to take over the manufacturing sector in quit a few areas, Clothing, Electronics, House wares, furniture ETC. Of course they managed this with the help of our good old Capitalistic system that they happen to own because of our greed and appetite for more and cheaper things. Lets make certain we don't blame our own home grown companies that all went to China to get those goods made so they can make more profit for the shareholders. Guess what? We also become a shareholder in that company when we buy those Chinese products. The worst thing is people were warned at least 30 years ago that this is what would happen.
For "stupid chinks" they sure played the capitalism game pretty well. Oh BTW they didn't come to us we went to them.
And guess what side of the Isle these RACIST come from, Yep the RIGHT .... Most of them can't get a job thats why they Whine about the Mexicans, Education is the KEY people, if a Mexican that can hardly speak English can find a job that says a lot about you people, instead of the BS you spew go back to school.
Master of the Universe, don't make racist remarks please. You are suspended for a day for violating rule # 5 of the Code of Honor.
Unmentioned was the effect on pregnant women, very sad story.
This is great - when are they going to do the same for vaccines. Guess that's different since it's injected directly into the the system.
Mercury's been out of vaccines now for more than a decade.
Wrong. My local clinic still uses mercury in adult flu vaccines. Mercury was reduced and/or eliminated from only kids' vaccines. According to the CDC, in 2001, mercury was
It was decided to not remove the mercury in flu shots targeted for young children.
Years afterward, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that young children still get the flu shots that contain mercury, since they claimed the risk of injecting mercury-laden Thimerosal into a child was outweighed by the benefits of being injected with the flu vaccines that use that Thimerosal as a preservative.
And by the now government imposed flourecent lights containing mercury, you can now apply your mercury make-up
...Mustang_man--you do not have to use the flourescent lights. There are other options--including LEDs. Try an LED--they are freaking expensive, but absolutely wonderful in the light they put out.
For heaven's sake--the marketplace is taking care of the fact that nobody likes CFLs, okay? Nobody is "imposing" anything.
Mustang_man ==The cecond gen . flourescent lights do not have mercury ......Glen Beck( a year ago) was talking about the first Gen....And better option is LED .IT will save you $$$$$$$$ and you dont have to change the LED bulb for 15 to 18 years ....Sooo there will be less TO DO in honey do list.
Join the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics on Facebook and twitter.
you can still buy incandescent light bulbs
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201112050008
http://www.energy.ca.gov/lightbulbs/lightbulb_faqs.html
The market doesn't outlaw alternatives like normal old school light bulbs.
What you said was completely ignorant. Quit supporting tyranny because you like the Party in charge.
We're trading "energy inefficient" light bulbs for mercury filled ones that are MORE expensive and require HazMat treatment when they break....that is NOT market-anything, liar.
not fopr very much longer...go read the regulations directly. Go read them on low flow toilets while you're at it. They do this at the State level as well. Tyranny is tyranny.
ProIndividual: "Tyranny is tyranny."
So do you think leaded gasoline and paint are good ideas, too?
I have read the regulations.
Light bulbs are required to be more efficient. Not a certain type. Just more efficient. Incandescents are now efficient enough to pass the reqs.
Enter Jack Nicholson circa 1989 Batman.
What about Flu shots? why is no one talking about mercury in those?
I agree and it's not just flu shots. Mercury is actually used in a lot of vaccines as a preservative. It's funny how they warn you about the mercury in products that they don't approve but say nothing about it when it comes to something that they do approve.
There was mercury in eye drops and products to clean and soak contact lenses for years...I no longer wear them, so don't know if some stuff still contains it...it was called thimerosal. I was using these products and did not know for a while. They were very irritating to my eyes. When I found out about it, I switched products and looked for ones without. This was back in the 80's and 90's. Presumably they no longer allow that, but there were numerous amounts of people using eye drops with it for years!!! I wonder about the damage that has done. Vaccines are supposed to be without it now, but who in the hell knows for sure?
Well if you weren't already pretty...
Lol at first I was like 'uh oh! mercury in cosmetics!' and then I saw it was skin-lightening products and I was like 'oh well no need to worry, I'm about the palest person in the entire world lol'
Another government red herring
Why do you never hear about the FDA giving warnings about all the pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, steroids and who only knows what else is allowed in and on our food supply?$?$?$?$? Kind of gives new meaning to "Beauty is only skin deep" doesn't it!!
Why is the FDA saying mercury in cosmetics is dangerous but they say it's not dangerous in silver amalgams used in dental work?
"IMAGINE YOURSELF IN A MERCURY NOW" .......bet this cheap import was made in china
Don't forget the mercury in fish. You are only recommended two meals with fish as the main course in one week due to the mercury content. I guess I need to look for this activated charcoal to detox. I wonder what is in the talapia fish these days/every time I eat that type of fish-I get an upset stomach. I finally said -no more. Does anyone know what is going on with this fish?
Tilapia is a farmed fish...it isn't wild caught. If you google it and read about some of the ways that fish farming is raping the environment, you would never eat it. Tilapia isn't good for you either. It's got as much saturated fat as beef or chicken, so people who think they are having a "seafood" meal with omega 3's are not getting that at all!!! Same with farmed salmon. Eat only wild caught fish..it's got mercury in it, but not as bad as the farmed stuff...go read about it. Catfish is on the list too...there are lots of fish being farmed. It makes me laugh everytime I pick up a menu that has Catfish and Tilapia listed as seafood!! NOT!!!!!
"I know it's tuna, but the label says 'Chicken of the Sea'!"
Sorry - couldn't resist.
Don't forget the farmed raised shrimp. I saw it on tv I think it was in Vietnam. It was very nasty.
China and their communist brotherhood around the world have been poisoning the U.S and allies for decades; it’s their waste management system. Make you buy their toxic waste, make you pay money for it and laugh in your face. From baby products to car parts and dry wall. China figures if they can’t become smarter then change your DNA to make you dumber. From birth defects to abnormal behavior it's all there if you want to look. and so china has pandered to the middle east for the last decade. the biggest joke is china is selling us the 200 most dangerous materials known to humans and not only are they making huge amounts of money from it. they are systematicly destroying western economic structures and turning enemies into their friends. its time to make some hard crunch choices. either support the western allies with trade and block every ship from china and their scum cohort partners or lose your future DNA. your choice! lets get the economy turning a buck in the country instead of letting two faced middle men proffit from your demise! how much money would you save is enough people were employed to scan and stop fake and copied products not just to the U.S. but to the global market. china gave us a big smack down with greace, lets return the favor and give them a trillion dollar SMACK DOWN. no more crap products.
Seriously? Everyone having irritability, tremors, depression, memory problems or changes in hearing and vision should call the Poison Center? How irresponsible. This could be more effective than a denial of service computer attack.
I like Mercury...Leave it alone>>> Quicksilver Rocks!!!LOL
Compact Fluorescent light bulbs have been out for a long time and they are energy efficient. The phasing out of the incadenscent light bulbs was passed during the George W. Bush administration and signed into law by Bush.
To Dan 299285 and Mustang Man
it was bush, but they are not phasing out incandescents... they will just be more efficient
I don't believe the trolls care about facts...yes, trolls, your good buddy Bush was the one who signed that into law!! Use the google and look it up!! lmao!! Now, go watch your head explode in the mirror!!!
What I read in 2014 you won't be getting anymore incandesants. It's already like that in Europe. I don't know if it's true or not. Can't believe a lot of what you read.
AAAHHH the price of being vain....
right on johnnybear
Idiots. Skin color has nothing to do with beauty. What a vain, narrow-minded world of people. Stop trying to be someone else, and the problem is solved.
After all of that why didn't they give the name of the products?
I think they gave some names.
They did and also provided a link to see the rest of the names.....make-up is very over rated, natural skin is far more happier, clearer, and beautiful. Make-up clogs pores, cause acne and now is poisoning you, glad I never was that vain....