October 2020 – Page 2 – Consumers Association Penang

EARLY MENSTRUATION from HORMONE-RAISED MEAT?

admin October 23, 2020 0 Comments

16% of girls in the U.S. now experience breast development by the age of 7, and 30% by the age of 8. A hundred years ago, the average age when a girl got her first period was 16-17. Girls with early maturation are at risk of lower self-esteem and higher rates of depression. The biological impact includes greater risk of several cancers (breast, ovarian, and endometrial), obesity,...

CAFFEINE added in drinks for ADDICTION

admin October 22, 2020 0 Comments

THE soft drinks industry has always claimed they just add caffeine to the drinks to enhance taste. A Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine taste study, however, indicates that caffeine cannot be detected as a flavour. The study supports the notion that caffeine is added to soft drinks and energy drinks to addict drinkers. In the study, only 8% of regular cola drinkers could taste the...

RECYCLING ISN’T ENOUGH to Tackle the World’s Worsening PLASTIC POLLUTION CRISIS

Admin October 21, 2020 0 Comments

"Plastics are commonly tossed into mixed-recycling bins to be conveniently collected and — we incorrectly assume — remade anew. The reality is that we’re “wishcycling.” In fact, less than 10 per cent of plastics are recycled. Virgin plastics are cheaper to produce than recycled products, undermining the viability of the recycling sector. For example, in 2019, California’s largest...

Fast Fashion, Fast Destruction

admin October 21, 2020 0 Comments

Trendy, fast and changing, “fast fashion” is destroying planet earth. In Europe, fashion companies offer an average of 2 collections per year. Now some brands like Zara offers 24 collections per year, while H&M offers 12-16. Fast fashion encourages a throwaway clothing culture. Lots of them end up in the dump. About one garbage truck full of clothes is dumped every second. In total, up...

Sand mining benefits few but detrimental to most

admin October 20, 2020 0 Comments

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) is shocked that a private company Ageson Bhd has entered into joint venture (JV) agreements with Bintang Dayang Sdn Bhd (BDSB) for river sand and Menteri Besar Kedah Incorporated (MBI Kedah) for silica sand to mine and export 50,000 tonnes of river sand monthly to China and Hong Kong by end 2020. Such sand mining is sheer exploitation of Malaysian...

Victim of the Caesarean Epidemic?

admin October 20, 2020 0 Comments

CAESAREAN birth is a major abdominal surgery that has potentially risky outcomes for both the mother and the baby. What is troubling is that Caesarean section rates are rising throughout the world; many Caesarean sections are done unnecessarily. They are also performed for non-medical reasons and for boosting doctors’ earnings and for their convenience. >> It was estimated that over half...

Cyclists Less Exposed Than Car Drivers

admin October 19, 2020 0 Comments

"Cyclists are the least exposed to air pollution on daily commutes into a congested city centre, research has shown. People in cars and buses spent longer in toxic air, as did walkers unless they made detours to avoid main roads. The work, conducted in Leeds, supports the investment in cycle lanes to both reduce air pollution by cutting vehicle journeys and improve citizens’ health. It also...

NEXT PANDEMIC? Amazon deforestation may spark new diseases

admin October 16, 2020 0 Comments

"Changes in the Amazon are driving displaced species of animals, from bats to monkeys to mosquitoes, into new areas, while opening the region to arrivals of more savanna-adapted species, including rodents. Those shifts, combined with greater human interaction with animals as people move deeper into the forest, is increasing the chances of a virulent virus, bacteria or fungus jumping species,...

Participate in extreme sports at own peril

admin October 15, 2020 0 Comments

On 27 September 2020, a woman broke her back after the rope snapped during a rope swing activity in Kuala Kubu Bharu. This is not the first case involving extreme sports neither will it be the last as long as the authorities are lackadaisical. The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) is shocked to learn on 11 October 2020 that the Hulu Selangor district council may allow the operator to...

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