Banning the (New) Lightbulb

If you knew there were a new product that was:

• not as well tested as the product it is meant to replace
• quickly becoming popular in offices and homes -- including homes with young children
• manufactured by some of the world's largest and most profitable companies
• possibly responsible for debilitating migraine headaches
• a risk for skin diseases including skin cancer

...would you support a ban on the product until its safety could be fully established?

The precautionary principle dictates that in the face of possible danger to human health, even in the absence of complete proof of that danger, it is best not to permit the hazard until its safety (rather than its danger) is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. As they say, it's better to be safe than sorry.

But if you agree, wouldn't you then have to join (or start) a campaign to ban so-called "environmentally-friendly" compact fluorescent light bulbs in light of reports like this one from the London Telegraph?

So: Are you sure you still like the idea of "erring on the safe side" whenever a new technology emerges?

Jeff Stier is an associate director of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).

Comments

[akhmed]

It is not "better to be safe than sorry" unless the comparative benefits outweigh the costs.

Given the costs of global warming and dependence on foreign oil, there has to be a lot of skin cancer and migraines to make the switch worse than keeping the old bulbs.

[LeftRight]

Plain and simple, there shouldn't be a ban, there should be a warning, and people should be allowed to use them in their own homes if they so choose. A ban on either CFL's or on incandescants is wrong, either way.

[Thorn]

(Bad Telegraph link.)

[hopeless277]

If there's a profit to be made then who cares? Answer: nobody. Here's how it works:
GE makes light bulbs
GE owns NBC
NBC owns the Today Show
The Today Show urgers people to buy GE bulbs.
See how easy that is? Now do it with the missles that GE makes for killing Iraqis.