Jessica Alba Is Onto Something: Toxic Chemicals In Household Products ‘Can Increase Asthma Risk In Children’

Turns out we should sit up and listen to Jessica Alba.

Because phthalates, the toxic chemical that her brand The Honest Company bans from its products, has been found to increase asthma risk in children.

A study by the University of Columbia in New York found that exposure to phthalates in the womb increases a child’s risk of developing asthma by more than 70 per cent.

Phthalates are a group of chemical compounds that helps to soften plastic and stop it being brittle and breaking. They've been around since the 1950s and are widely used though they've been banned in the use of cosmetics and children’s toys in the EU since 2004 after health concerns were raised.

But that doesn’t mean we’re not exposed to them every day, as they're included in many household items including plastic food containers, plastic food wrap, shower curtains, vinyl floors, electronics and synthetic fragrances.

Even more worryingly, this new research, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, has found that children don’t even need to be in direct contact with phthalates to increase their risk of breathing difficulties.

The study followed 300 pregnant women, testing their urine for traces of the chemical before quizzing them about their child’s breathing between the ages of five and 11.

The results found that foetuses that were exposed to the highest levels of butylbenzyl phthalates (one of the chemicals in the phthalate family) were 78 per cent more at risk of developing asthma as children than those who weren’t exposed to it at all.

Researchers say more needs to be done to protect pregnant women from exposure to the chemicals, not just the child when he or she is born.

"The foetus is extremely vulnerable during pregnancy,” said Doctor Rachel Miller, who led the study.

"While it is incumbent on mothers to do everything they can to protect their child, they are virtually helpless when it comes to phthalates like BBzP and DnBP that are unavoidable.

“If we want to protect children, we have to protect pregnant women."

For more information on phthalates, visit cosmeticsinfo.org.

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