Over 600,000 Americans die of cancer every year. One in three Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Yet very little is being done about cancer prevention. Right-to-know laws let people know when they are being exposed to, or purchasing, a product that contains a known cancer-causing substance.
Presently, only California has such a law known as Proposition 65. But back in 2019, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed such legislation for New York – the Consumer Right to Know Act. In addition, in 2003 a bill for right-to-know legislation was introduced in the New York State Assembly by Assemblyman Steve Levy – bill number A05508 – but it was never passed.
Clearly consumers have the right to know if they are buying a product that contains a known cancer-causing substance. Consumers need this information so that they can limit their exposure, and their family’s exposure to cancer-causing substances if they wish to do so.
In former Gov. Cuomo’s State of the State Address in 2019, he announced his intention to propose right-to-know legislation. This proposal appears in a press release titled “Cuomo’s 2019 Justice Agenda” – under the heading “Creating Healthy Communities” – and was included in his proposed 2019 budget. It was called the Consumer Right to Know Act. Unfortunately, according to online reports, it was dropped from the budget bill signed into law on April 12, 2019.
According to the former governor’s 2019 press release, the purpose of the law was to protect New Yorkers from unknown exposure to toxic chemicals. The press release reads:
“Gov. Cuomo will introduce new legislation authorizing the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Health and the Department of State to develop regulations establishing an on-package labeling requirement for designated products, indicating thpresence of potentially hazardous chemicals, developing a list of the more than 1,000 carcinogens and other chemicals that will trigger labeling, and identifying the types of consumer products that will be subject to the new regime. DEC and DOH will be further empowered to require manufacturers to disclose the chemical contents of consumer products sold or distributed in New York State and explore possible additional measures to protect consumers.”
Hopefully, Gov. Hochul will also pursue this type of legislation on behalf of New Yorkers. How much longer are we going to wait to give New Yorkers the information needed to reduce their exposure to known carcinogens? Reducing exposure to cancer-causing substances is needed to prevent cancer. Early detection, while important, is not prevention.
Elizabeth Henley
Mineola
With respect, the law is one of those things that earn California it’s reputation. Now, almost EVERYTHING sold, from coffee makers to radiator hoses has a cancer “warning” stamped on it, as if this will prevent cancer or even change consumer preferences.
The best policy is to continue to work to prevent these chemicals from getting into the ecosystem in the first place. That IS happening, although it’s not front page news. It’s a process.
But mandatory disclaimers like this accomplish nothing.