Seeing red over pink

A Montreal breast cancer action group wants consumers to stop buying "pink ribbon" products and instead give money directly to organizations that fund breast cancer prevention research.

"I am offended and tired of companies slapping pink ribbons on their products, when their products continue to contain known, suspected or potential carcinogens," Carol Secter, a board member of Breast Cancer Action Montreal, said at a news conference yesterday.

The group contends the Pink Ribbon campaign mainly benefits corporations, many of which are part of the problem, since they sell products with ingredients linked to cancer.

These companies, the group contends, donate an undisclosed fraction of their pink ribbon profits to research, and most of that research is dedicated to searching for a cure, or for breast cancer treatment. Only about five per cent of the money collected for breast cancer goes to research into prevention of the disease.

"None of us are saying that research on treatments or finding a cure is not important. But the money going there is out of proportion with the percentage that goes into finding the root causes of breast cancer," Secter said.

Meanwhile, researchers are increasingly pointing to environmental causes of breast cancer, such as toxic ingredients in cosmetics or traffic-related air pollution.

An alarming study by researchers at McGill University, published yesterday in the online journal Environmental Health Perspectives, shows breast cancer is strongly associated with exposure to urban air pollution.

That study looked at breast cancer incidence among post-menopausal women living in Montreal in 1996-97. It found increased risk for those living in areas where traffic-related air pollution is high. In fact, the risk increased by approximately 25 per cent for every increase of 5 parts per million of exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a marker for traffic-related pollution.

Sector said it is hypocritical for car companies like Ford Motor Co. to associate themselves with Pink Ribbon campaigns, since vehicles with internal combustion engines emit carcinogens into the air, notably polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The group launched a month-long campaign yesterday called "Alternatives to Pink," which will encourage consumers to move beyond pink-ribbon shopping, and instead push for prevention of breast cancer.

The group will be asking the public to use social media to put pressure on cosmetics manufacturers to become signatories of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. That compact asks companies to pledge to be open with consumers about product ingredients and to ensure their products are free of chemicals known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutations or birth defects.

While hundreds of companies around the world have signed that compact, many major cosmetics companies, including Estee Lauder and Avon, have not. Through its "Alternatives to Pink" Campaign, BCAM will be urging people to email Avon (until tomorrow) and Estee Lauder (on Oct. 13 to 15).

Breast Cancer Awareness Month was the creation of a partnership between Estee Lauder and Self magazine, but the Montreal group said the campaign has become more about marketing and increasing profit margins than about battling the disease.

"I am a breast cancer survivor and I hate Breast Cancer Awareness Month," said Deena Dlusy-Apel, a member of Breast Cancer Action Montreal.

"We are reminded of the corporate campaigns each October when pink products flood the marketplace. ... People think they are being helpful by buying (pink ribbon) goods; we feel they are being deceived," she said.

But some argue pink ribbon products are an important source of funding for all kinds of breast cancer research.

"We do support the Pink Ribbon campaign because this is a way for people who don't necessarily have the funds to make a full donation to contribute to the cause just by buying a product," said Anne-Sophie Hamel, communications adviser to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.

She said the QBCF does review products that companies offer as pink ribbon products, and will not accept funds from sales of those that contain known cancer-causing ingredients. She said many companies want to participate in the program because they have employees or family members who have breast cancer.

mlalonde@montrealgazette.com

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Here are some links for consumers looking for help choosing safer cosmetics:

For more on BCAM's Alternatives to Pink campaign, go to: bcam.qc.ca

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femmetoxic.com

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lesstoxicguide.ca

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cosmeticsdatabase.com

And to read the McGill University study on breast cancer associated with traffic-related air pollution, go to ehponline.org