Please find the full text of the petition to President Obama below. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to sign the petition, please click here to add your voice!
President Obama:
Every minute, at least one American will die from cancer. What is particularly frightening about this statistic is that, contrary to general assumption, many of these cancers could have been prevented.
Americans are exposed to cancer-causing chemicals on a daily basis, in the workplace, in classrooms, and even in our homes. Right now, it’s perfectly legal to add chemicals known to cause cancer to the products we use every day, including children’s toys, furniture, food containers and cosmetics. By setting the course for a national cancer prevention strategy that includes eliminating the use of cancer-causing chemicals, the President can reverse decades of failed policies that have allowed those chemicals to contaminate our lives and endanger our health.
Cancer takes a devastating toll on individuals and families. Consider these facts:
- 1 in 2 American men and 1 in 3 American women will get some type of cancer in our lifetimes;
- Cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in children younger than 15;
- Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer.
In its annual report to the President last year, the President’s Cancer Panel confirmed that exposure to toxic chemicals is an important but under-recognized risk factor for cancer. The Panel urged the President to “most strongly use the power of your office” to eliminate human exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.
President Obama, please do not wait any longer to act on the Panel’s recommendations. Help protect Americans by preventing the use of cancer-causing chemicals and instead promote safer, greener chemistry that will make our nation strong and competitive. We need your leadership to strengthen existing regulations governing toxic chemicals, including the ineffective 1938 Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act and the failed 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act.
Millions of Americans are living with cancer, and millions more are affected by the devastating toll a cancer diagnosis takes on families, communities and workplaces. Please make it a top priority for your Administration to create a cancer prevention plan that stops the use of cancer-causing chemicals in products used in America every day.
Sincerely,
