PET used in plastic medical bottles causes complications in reproduction and a host of other diseases. Top medical institutions from Delhi in association with the pharma industry want to come up with a sustainable solution of glass packaging with help of the government. By Shrabasti Mallik
We wake up in the morning and one of the first things we do is drink water out of a plastic bottle. Then on, everything that we use is in some way or the other made of plastic — be it the buckets we use, the medicines we take and even our lunch boxes. While some are made of superior and foodgrade quality plastic, some objects are prepared from polyethylene terepthalate (PET) and are quite hazardous to health. In a recently held panel discussion, noted doctors from renowned medical institutions in and around Delhi discussed about the effects of PET use and its alternate solution.
Plastic bottles made from PET releases toxic chemicals at a certain temperature. It is called leaching and it releases chemicals like phthalate, which are endocrine disruptors. In addition, it also leaches out compounds like antimony and acetaldehyde which causes respiratory, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disorder. leaching is triggered between 30 to 40 degrees and is directly proportional to the duration of packaging. The longer the medicine is stored in the bottle, the higher the amount of chemicals is leached in it. The complications that can arise from PET are numerous.
It causes attention deficit disorder, endocrine disorder, diabetes and obesity. Endocrine disorder again, leads to early onset of puberty and prostate breast cancer in young girls. “It is also one of the root causes of infertility. PET bottles may have long term medical consequences on women, specially during the growing up years and pregnancy. The release of Bisphenol A (BPA) and additives like diethylhexyl phthalate can blend with the contents of the bottle and lead to health issues like impaired immune development, increased miscarriage rate and pre-term birth. BPA acts as false estrogen and can cause chromosomal abnormalities, birth defects and developmental disabilities in childhood. Its exposure is also linked to hyperactivity disorders and aggression in young girls,” said Dr Seema Singhal, assistant professor, department of obstetrics and gynaecology, AIIMS.
The effects of the exposure is, however, not visible in the immediate generation. Dr Kiran Agarwal, president, Indian Academy of Paediatrics said, “The impact of such exposure may not be evident now but it manifests itself in the future generations.” A petition was made by medical experts from top medical institutions like AIIMS, Indian Academy of Paediatrics and Maulana Azad Medical College, amongst many, to the government to ban the use of PET bottles in the pharmaceutical sector in early 2014. The Government in September 2014 proposed a ban on PET containers as primary packaging in liquid oral formulations for paediatric, geriatric (treatment for the elderly) and reproductive healthcare. But nothing has been implemented yet.
The only probable solution to this problem is to package medicines in glass bottles instead, because glass does not add anything to the content of the bottle. At present the Indian pharmaceutical industry uses one million metric ton of plastic per year in packaging. The challenge is to produce that much amount of glass. Dr Narendra Saini, former secretary, Indian Medical Association, said, “Some companies use amber coloured glass bottles in certain instances but that usage is minimal. We want the government to sit with the pharma industry, doctors and glass manufacturers and come up with a sustainable solution. Without that, it would be unethical to demand for a ban on PET.”