CEI Releases Consumer’s Guide to Chemical Policy

Washington, D.C., April 2 – Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released “A Consumer’s Guide to Chemical Risk:  Deciphering the ‘Science’ Behind Chemical Scares,” by CEI senior fellow and chemical policy expert Angela Logomasini.

The guide is designed to reduce confusion and needless fear about chemicals, uncovering alarmist tactics and junk science that underlie anti-chemical scare campaigns. “Will chemicals in commercial products make you fat or give you cancer? News headlines suggest they do, but don’t be fooled,” says Logomasini. “Much of the news hype about chemicals simply isn’t true. This guide helps consumers more easily sort fact from fiction and recognize the difference between sound science and junk science.”

In addition to providing an overview of what constitutes good science, the study uncovers the real meaning behind alarmist rhetoric.

“These terms are designed to inspire fear when, in fact, they don’t mean very much at all,” says Logomasini. “For example, the booklet addresses the controversy over so-called ‘obesogens’ and overblown claims about ‘endocrine disrupter.’  These buzzwords are closer to marketing phrases than scientific terminology.”

> The full consumer’s guide is available at CEI.org. A breakdown of this information with a fact sheet and a terminology guide can be found on SafeChemicalPolicy.org.

> View “A Consumer’s Guide to Chemical Risk”