From our president

This monthly letter to subscribers from Consumers Union President Jim Guest highlights the critical consumer issues behind our current reports. See archived letters.

Falling short

After a hairy taxi ride on a trip recently, I asked the head of our Auto Test Center whether driving is safer in Europe or in the U.S. For the most part, he said, safety and emissions regulations are stronger here, though other areas are weaker. For example, a DUI conviction in Europe can get you barred from driving for six years.

But not all regulations serve consumers in the U.S. as well as they do abroad. Here are two examples:

Drug-resistant bacteria

Some drugs that used to be effective are now weaker because bacteria have become resistant. In part, that's a result of the inappropriate use of antibiotics in human patients. But also to blame are the superbugs that result from the steady dosing of livestock to make them grow bigger and faster.

Since 2006, the European Union has restricted the use of antibiotics in animals to medicinal purposes only and has banned the drugs in daily feed to tackle bacterial resistance caused by their "overexploitation or misuse." Here in the U.S., no such restrictions exist.

A ubiquitous chemical

A recent study showed that people in the U.S. have more exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical linked to reproductive abnormalities, certain cancers, diabetes, and heart disease, than people in Canada, China, and Germany. U.S. levels were double those in Canada.

BPA can be found in some clear plastic bottles and the linings of beverage and food cans. Canada and the European Union have banned BPA in baby bottles, and several states in the U.S. have restricted its use in some children's products. U.S. regulators are studying BPA's health effects and say they support efforts to make baby bottles and can linings without BPA. But despite the clear evidence of risk, they have yet to ban BPA's use in products that come in contact with food.

Whenever I travel, I'm proud to represent an organization that helps protect American consumers. But I'm also reminded of how much more the U.S. needs to do, so I come back even more determined to help us get there.

Jim Guest
President