Get the facts, not fiction, about the chemicals all around us (The Consumer's Good Chemical Guide - John Emsley)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	The Consumer's Good Chemical Guide - John Emsley
Date:	27/05/09 (79 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very readable. Gives reassurance about many chemicals we use daily

Disadvantages: Will not appeal to everyone.

Many people believe that 'chemicals' are dangerous. They believe that they are poisonous, cause cancer, obesity, and harm the environment, and of course they do. Some of them. What many people don't realise is that ALL substances are made of 'chemicals' and not all chemicals are harmful.

This book is about those 'chemicals' that get such a bad press, often for no good reason. The book's author, John Emsley, is a popular science writer and has written many books on chemistry and chemicals. He is a professor of chemistry, so is extremely knowledgeable, but more importantly for a book of this nature, he has an easy, involving, writing style that makes the already interesting subject, completely fascinating.

The book's sub title line is "separating facts from fiction about everyday products". Emsley, in his foreword, states that this book is not about chemicals like radon or CFC's, because they ARE dangerous. Rather, the book covers chemicals that have a sometimes undeserved reputation for causing harm, whilst being extremely useful in themselves.

The media does like a good scare story and we've been bombarded with them incessantly over the past twenty years or so. Chlorine, PVC, fats, cholesterol, nitrates, and carbon dioxide have all been the subject of media panics, with varying degrees of fact attached to the sensation. This book examines all of these issues and more.

The chapter on sugar and artificial sweeteners is a good example. 'Pure', 'natural' sugar makes us fat and causes tooth decay. 'Artificial', 'chemical' sweeteners like aspartame can cause cancer. The truth is of course, somewhere in between the extremes and the author helps us see the facts rather than the media's fiction and hype.

PVC is a plastic that has been demonised in the press. It's made from a chemical that causes cancer, it contaminates our food when used in packaging, and when burnt it forms dioxins. The author explains that these are all facts; but the miniscule risk associated with the use of PVC is so small as to be completely ignored!

The chapter on alcohol is my favourite (well, it would be wouldn't it, hic!). Here the author examines the health benefits of alcohol, the chemical changes it causes in the body which makes us feel good then bad, and instructs us on how to avoid a hangover! This is, however, a controversial subject. Clearly, alcohol is a major cause of illness and death throughout the world, but in moderation it does have benefits to health (now if I could only get the 'in moderation' bit right!).

Perhaps the most surprising chapter covers dioxins. Everyone knows that 'dioxins' are deadly poisons, and they are. Some of them. There are, in fact, over 75 dioxins and most are non-toxic! Humans have been blamed for the presence of dioxins in the food chain, but these are also naturally occurring chemicals and we're used to being exposed to them (fascinatingly, an American insect uses a dioxin as a sex attractant!). The author concludes the chapter with the words "the dioxin scare is over".

This book makes a fascinating read, and is a rather reassuring antidote to the popular press' scaremongering over those nasty 'chemicals' we're poisoning ourselves with. The reader needs no knowledge of chemistry to read this book, although for interested readers, there's a comprehensive glossary describing the chemicals covered in the book. This book will be of interest to anyone who's been made nervous about 'chemicals' and their effect on us and who wants to read a more balanced view of the facts. Highly recommended.

The book is available from Amazon resellers from £2.76.

Summary: Chemicals are not all dangerous, as this book demonstrates.