SaltWire E-Edition

DANGEROUS PRODUCTS

In his May 14 letter, Orland Kennedy places a good deal of blame for our medical care crises on citizens. It is true that bad choices around eating, drinking and exercise can lead to serious and ongoing health problems.

However, there are many more contributing factors to poor outcomes other than the individual. For decades, companies have been allowed to produce, to promote and to sell products that are clearly poisonous to our bodies, addictive in nature and bad for the environment.

Besides tobacco (still legal with data showing most smoking consumers to be in the lower-income brackets), studies have clearly demonstrated the dangers of consuming high levels of sugar, sodium and certain fats. These products are ubiquitous in their availability, thus giving the perception that they are safe.

Add to this the many environmental pollutants from vehicles, building materials and single-use plastics in use all around us and observe the disaster that has been allowed to fester unchecked for a long time.

Let us place much of the blame for the poor health of many citizens where it belongs: on the backs of companies whose products have been given free rein in the marketplace and on the backs of our elected representatives who have turned a blind eye to major causes of proliferating illnesses.

Peggy Smith, Halifax

Opinion

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2022-05-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://saltwire.pressreader.com/article/281621013940177

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