Chemicals like BPA which breakdown from plastics upon being heated up or frozen have the potential to imitate effect of oestrogen hormone in the body. These are therefore called as endocrine disrupters. From health concerns like diabetes, thyroid malfunction to infertility in young population, such chemicals are responsible for creating a health havoc. Polystyrene which is used in making cutlery and foam packaging of many eatables, is also a well known neurotoxin. Most plastic cups and glasses also contain the notorious chemical called styrene. This is a dangerous carcinogen which has been linked to gastrointestinal traumas and cancers

It is a moot question that whether more lives in India are lost annually due to lack of access to basic health care facilities or due to the compromised standards of the medical care which is available. Specifically in the rural regions and the suburbia, many people still resort to informal medical care providers for motley health conditions. It is ironical that while sophistication in specialised medicine attracts thousands of foreign patients to India each year, there are major gaps in the medical facilities available for financially stronger and the poor.

Despite expansion in the ambit of health care system provided by the government, public investments in preventive health facilities such as sanitation and waste management are still insufficient. It is a matter of regret that the non-communicable diseases have now become a leading cause of terminal illness as well as deaths in the country contributing to roughly 55 per cent of the total mortality instances.

More than internationalisation of infections and disorders it is usually individual behaviour, environmental factors, social factors and lack of information which culminates in illnesses. The most critical avenue for investing in health by the Government therefore becomes disease prevention and health awareness.

Across the developing economies it is usually the food and water borne illnesses which end up becoming epidemics. However even these have been traditionally linked to ingestion of parasite infested foods and fluids. It was only two to three years back that an unparalleled and unique physical contamination of water was discovered globally. This ironically was only a testimony to the already existing speculations throughout the world. Scientists discovered billions of people globally were directly consuming or using tap water contaminated with micro plastics.

Another surprising element of the study was the finding that few US cities had the maximum concentration of plastic fibres tricking down through taps. The data on plastic pollution has been taking the world by a storm for more than a decade now. However this far the research being conducted and the data being generated was focusing on sea and river water resources. It was also believed that its impact on human health was largely through sea food consumption. The realisation that people are drinking micro plastic infested water opened a new Pandora’s box demanding urgent intervention.

Questions like in what ways has plastic found inroads into our water cycle and food chain are extremely complex and require a thorough intervention of a global nature. However have we learnt any lessons? Have we made a committed endeavour to effectively dispose off all plastics at our disposal? The answer is dismaying obviously.

Like many European, African and some Asian nations, the Indian Government has time and again reiterated its commitment to completely phase out single use plastics from public use. This was promised in 2019 as an initial ban on six Single Use Plastics (SUPs) utilities to prepare groundwork towards a total plastic ban from 2022 onwards.

However to much dismay of environmentalists and conscious citizens alike, the ban was later deferred citing its negative impact on business in an already recessing economy. The only promise which came alongside was that the government would continue its efforts to curb plastic use.  More than withholding of the ban what has really been detrimental to us is the lack of sensitisation among people even now. This lack of awareness and initiative among people emanates from an insufficient knowledge of the immediate harms inflicted by plastics on health.

When we talk of preventative health care the most cardinal concern becomes generating effective public awareness on agents that are detrimental to human and ecological health. The harmful effects of plastics on our health are as profound and deep as their involvement in our lives in the contemporary world. Despite their being synonymous with toxicity, the use of plastics for water and food packaging as well in kitchen ware is rampant.

The hundreds of plastic mineral water and juice bottles shelved in cold and hot conditions across retail stores is a testimony of our indifference to the health disorders plastics can create on human health. Several plastic products ooze chemicals from the bottles into the fluids which they contain.

These have been known to upset the delicate hormonal makeup of human physiology. Chemicals like BPA which breakdown from plastics upon being heated up or frozen have the potential to imitate effect of oestrogen hormone in the body. These are therefore called as endocrine disrupters. From health concerns like diabetes, thyroid malfunction to infertility in young population, such chemicals are responsible for creating a health havoc. Polystyrene which is used in making cutlery and foam packaging of many eatables, is also a well known neurotoxin. Most plastic cups and glasses also contain the notorious chemical called styrene.

This is a dangerous carcinogen which has been linked to gastrointestinal traumas and cancers. In fact several brands of plastic products which are touted as chemical free by manufacturers have been known to contain polycarbonate. This again leaks micro plastics in food and beverages. Unfortunately children who still have immature immune system are also being exposed to plastic lunch boxes, bottles, stationery and toys. It is disheartening how our entire human resource base gets maimed owing to our insurmountable dependence or addiction for plastics.

Today various communities across the planet are battling challenges like climate change, forest fires, economic and civil upheavals. The more critical issue of plastic impact on human life often gets pushed to the back burner. It is ironic however that people are ossifying themselves from within by not refraining from using plastic commodities and by not learning how to safely dispose the plastics which are already in use.

MK Gandhi believed that “you must be the change you want to see in the world”. By not bringing about a transformation in the societal patterns of manufacturing and consumption we cannot expect the rising health challenges to be mitigated.

Ecology and human life are two sides of the same coin. Preventive action has far more promising results than mitigative action. For a more productive channelising of our national resources it is important that physical and psychological health of people gets prioritised. Once preventive public health care is the centre of focus for a country then entire education system also becomes wired to sensitise people right from the primary stages. Plastics are the root cause of all health and environmental problems which the world is confronting at present.

Joint efforts for eradication and systematic disposal of plastics seems the only solution to this menace. It is not the nature which depends on humans but it is the humans who are cradled by nature. It is human actions which ultimately decide how the nature reacts and responds.

(The author is a retired civil servant)