Views & News
Short takes, updates and calls to action
 Saving
“Good” Bacteria
The latest consumer fad of using anti-bacterial soaps
and detergents might be doing more harm than good, according to Dr.
Stuart Levy of Tufts University. Levy, holder of two professorships,
one in molecular biology and microbiology, and one in medicine, says
external surface bacteria, the kind found on kitchen counters and on
your hands, develop resistance to chemical ingredients in anti-bacterial
products the same way internal body bacteria develops resistance to
antibiotics. Using the home environmental “bacterial community”
as an example, Levy says a minor bacteria member might have a “random
mutation for resistance or be naturally resistant” to an ingredient
in the anti-bacterial product. This surviving bacteria community member
would then become “a prominent part of the community.”
“What you end up doing is changing the microbiology in your home.
Think about it—you take an anti-bacterial and it is able to stop
the growth of or kill something. Following our experience with antibiotics,
what you can expect is that if you use drugs which are clearly anti-bacterial,
you are not going to sterilize, you are going to replace the susceptibles
with those that are not.”
Besides giving people a false sense of security, use of anti-bacterial
products can herald other dangers. Two years ago, Levy’s lab at
Tufts found that E coli bacteria can develop resistance to triclosan,
a common antibacterial ingredient in store-bought soaps. They also found
that triclosan acts on a single gene within the bacteria to kill it.
A similar gene was found in tuberculosis and it is the same gene that
one tuberculosis drug targets. It is possible, Levy postulates, that
the overuse of triclosan could lead to a new drug-resistant form of
the disease.
According to Levy bacteria have positive aspects. “They are required
for the maturation of our immune system, they are important for the
maturation of our intestinal tract for absorption of materials—as
you contact bacteria the intestinal cells develop normally, without
certain bacteria they do not.” The concern is that kids who are
“flooded with antibiotics and raised in super sterile—supposedly—environments,”
will not be able to protect themselves from certain forms of bacteria.
Levy recommends keeping a lid on antibiotics “unless they are absolutely
required and keeping use of anti-bacterials unless you are treating
a sick patient and even then use them carefully. In addition, Levy recommends
use of “rapid acting” anti-bacterial substances such as alcohols,
peroxides and chlorinated products to kill bacteria. “They do their
job rapidly, they don’t leave a residue as do chemically impregnated
products, they get rid of something but then the normal bacteria can
come right back and recolonize.”
—Lorna Tychostup
Water-Repellent Planet
Transnational manufacturing corporation 3M has announced
it will phase out production of the perfluorooctanyl chemistry used
to produce repellents and surfactants, the most popular of which is
known to the public as “Scotchgard.” The company decided to
stop producing Scotchgard after blood tests conducted in 1997 revealed
traces of the stain repellant in the U.S. blood supply. In fact, 3M
discovered Scotchgard in people and animals all over the globe. The
only human blood 3M was able to find that did not contain Scotchgard
was the stored blood of Korean War soldiers—blood sampled before
the chemical was invented.
Concerned about the possible health effects, 3M researchers fed Scotchgard
to rats and monkeys. The monkeys had convulsions, and the offspring
of the rats all died.
Though it officially claims small background levels of Scotchgard pose
no risk to human health or the environment, 3M says it is ceasing production
of the chemical by the end of this year, “based on our principles
of responsible environmental management...We’re reallocating resources
to accelerate innovation in more sustainable opportunities and technologies.”
Accidentally invented in 1952 in the laboratory of Patsy Sherman, Scotchgard
started out as a synthetic latex Sherman was experimenting with as a
possible material for jet aircraft fuel lines. When it splashed on a
lab worker’s canvas sneakers, it was found to repel both water
and oils while preserving the look and feel of the shoes. It currently
represents about two percent of 3M’s $16 billion annual sales.
—Todd Paul
 Tobacco
Industry Giants Champions of Public Health?
Three cheers to Florida Circuit Court Judge Robert Kaye,
who this past June refused to allow obfuscating testimony from R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco Corporation expert in the first class-action lawsuit
by smokers which has made it to trial Florida. No sooner did the tobacco
company’s hired gun, toxicology scientist and vice president of
product evaluation, Donald deBethizy, begin testifying about nicotine
research by Reynold’s subsidiary Targacept in the treatment of
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, when he was stopped by
Kaye.
“I want to relate this strictly to cigarettes, the tobacco industry,
products that people pick up and smoke because that’s what this
case is all about, not any spin-off scientific developments. So be careful,”
Kaye warned.
The jury in the case had earlier determined that R.J. Reynolds, along
with defendants Philip Morris Inc., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp.,
Lorillard Tobacco Co., Liggett Group Inc. and the Counsel for Tobacco
Research and Tobacco Institute (which is no longer in existence), conspired
to produce a deadly product and awarded compensatory damages to the
tune of $12.7 million to the three people representing the class-action
suit. The jury now has to decide just how much the tobacco industry
should pay in punitive damages.
Apparently Judge Kaye did not accept the collective attempt by the tobacco
industry’s giants to depict themselves as newly risen champions
for the health of Americans since their $254 billion settlement with
the states. An attempt, many feel, which was made to stave off yet another
multibillion-dollar punitive-damages verdict, this time on behalf of
up to 700,000 smoker’s in the state of Florida.
P.S. If you’re interested in the topic, consider renting the film
The Insider, a look into the tobacco industry’s attempts to cover
up its machinations to produce a purposely addictive product.
—Lorna Tychostup
American Medical Association
Falls Short of Calling for Moratorium on Executions
A resolution drafted by the American Association of Public
Health Physicians asking fellow members of the America Medical Association
to endorse a national moratorium on executions until controversial questions
surrounding death penalty decisions—including the availability
of DNA evidence—are resolved, was turned away at the June 2000
meeting of the AMA.
According to AMA spokesman, Ross Frazier, while the resolution was heard
in committee, it was challenged by several members of the AMA. “Many
of the people who spoke felt it was outside of the purview of the AMA
to render a decision about the death penalty since it had to do with
legal issues and the capabilities of the lawyers representing death
row inmates. ‘Well, we’re a physicians membership organization,
what do we know about that.’”
The resolution passed only after references calling for a death penalty
moratorium were dropped and replaced by a call for the AMA to “support
the availability and use of all appropriate medical forensic techniques
in the criminal justice system.”
Dr. Jonathan Weisbuch, who presented the resolution on behalf of the
AAPHP, hopes another resolution calling for a execution moratorium will
be presented and passed at the next meeting of the AMA. Scheduled in
December, the meeting will take place after November’s election.
Support by some members of the AMA of the presidential candidacy of
Texas Governor George Bush, a staunch death penalty advocate who has
unflinchingly presided over 134 executions during his five-and-a-half-year
years in office, is said to have swayed the AMA vote.
“Our resolution had nothing to do with Governor Bush or Texas,”
says Weisbuch. “We actually introduced and wrote our resolution
back in March just after Governor Ryan introduced a moratorium in Illinois.”
In fact, the first AAPHP resolution asking to support the American Bar
Association in their request to halt executions due to flaws in the
system was submitted two years ago to the AMA and rejected.
To help in efforts to put a halt to executions write to Dr. Weisbuch
at 2210 Encanto Drive NW, Phoenix, AZ 85007; or e-mail at jbweidbuch@earthlink.net.
Also check out the American Association of Public Health Physicians
at www.aaphp.org.
—Lorna Tychostup
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