Are everyday products from cosmetics to household cleaners causing the high rates of breast cancer?

European governments responded to this scientific evidence by banning cosmetic products with certain chemicals from being sold in their countries. According to No Family History, one American cosmetics company known as much for its "pink ribbon" marketing campaigns as for its pink lipstick removed these chemicals from products sold in Europe, but these same chemicals remain in the products the company sells in the United States.

"Women and girls should not have to check the ingredients in every stick of lipstick and each bottle of moisturizer. Better regulation to ensure that these products are safe would go a long way to reducing the incidence of breast cancer," McCormick says.

Many companies that profit from "pink" marketing campaigns or breast cancer treatments, McCormick argues, are the same ones fighting against tougher regulations of cancer-causing chemicals in everyday products. McCormick dubs this the "political economy" of breast cancer. "In the case of breast cancer, many activists have unwittingly bought into campaigns leading down the road away from a cause, and instead into more and more breast cancer," McCormick writes in her book.

No Family History: The Environmental Links to Breast Cancer (Rowman & Littlefield) is a provocative glimpse into environmental links to breast cancer, profiling research as well as women's stories. McCormick recommends that women reduce their exposure to many cosmetics and toiletries and urges policymakers to strengthen regulations to ban cancer-causing chemicals from being used in everyday products.

For more information on the book (in stores in June) and a documentary McCormick produced on the subject, visit www.nofamilyhistory.org.

The RWJF Health & Society Scholars Program is designed to build the nation's capacity for research, leadership, and policy change to address the broad range of factors that affect health. Information about the RWJF Health & Society Scholars Program, including application information, can be found at www.healthandsocietyscholars.org/.

The research findings presented here are those of the researcher and are not necessarily the views of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.