The report notes that the health effects of plastics are ubiquitous, increasing, and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.
Published Aug 09, 2025 | 9:38 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 09, 2025 | 9:38 AM
Microplastics. (iStock)
Synopsis: A new study warns that plastics have become a grave, growing and under-recognised danger to human and planetary health. The report notes that the health effects of plastics are ubiquitous, increasing, and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.
A new study published in The Lancet, titled The Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics, led by Professor Philip J Landrigan, warns that plastics have become a “grave, growing and under-recognised danger to human and planetary health.”
According to the study, plastics cause disease and death across all stages of life, from infancy to old age. The health-related economic burden of exposure to plastics now exceeds $1.5 trillion per year globally.
Plastic production has surged from two million tonnes in 1950 to 475 million tonnes in 2022, with projections estimating a rise to 1,200 million tonnes by 2060. Simultaneously, plastic waste has reached eight billion tonnes, while less than 10 percent is recycled.
In response, the authors emphasise that the harms caused by plastics can be mitigated through evidence-based, cost-effective, and well-financed laws and policies, similar to past efforts on air pollution and lead exposure. To support this, the study launched a new global tracking initiative, the Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics, to monitor progress across four areas.
The study outlines four key domains to be tracked as part of the Countdown. First one, Production and emissions refers to monitoring the environmental release of harmful substances across the plastic life cycle.
Exposures focus on measuring the presence of plastics and related chemicals in the environment and human bodies. Health impacts cover the effects of these exposures on disease and mortality across all life stages. Interventions and engagement track laws, policies, and public actions aimed at reducing harm.
Different plastics are made from up to 16,000 chemicals, which “enter the human body via ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption,” often from food and drink containers and packaging, the study noted.
The Lancet report noted that chemicals in plastics, including phthalates, bisphenols, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other additives, are responsible for a substantial portion of plastics’ health harms. These substances have been linked to cardiovascular disease, cancers, reproductive disorders, and developmental effects, and infants and young children are especially vulnerable to their impacts.
The report notes that the health effects of plastics are ubiquitous, increasing, and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.
“We are too late to talk about plastics because it has already entered our environment. People are not realising the dangerous effects of microplastics. One day, everyone will understand and completely stop using plastic. But even if we stop, its effects will continue for at least the next 5,000 years,” Dr Anand Madhavan, Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), told South First.
Dr Madhavan’s concerns echo the Lancet study’s warning that plastics are not only persistent but also deeply embedded in every layer of the environment and human biology. With over eight billion tonnes of plastic waste already accumulated on the planet and less than 10 percent recycled, the report highlights that the long-term consequences of past and present plastic use will extend far beyond any immediate policy changes or change in consumer behaviour.
“After the Industrial Revolution, when Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland invented the first fully synthetic plastic in 1907, everyone considered it a bloom or a milestone of humankind. However, we are too late to realise that it was a thing that we made to destroy us. Purely, The Fate of Humans,” he added, highlighting how plastic evolved as an important part globally.
The Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics has been launched as countries gather in Geneva for the final round of talks to create the world’s first Global Plastics Treaty, expected to be attended by delegates from 175 nations. Many are pushing for strong targets to reduce plastic production.
However, some countries like China, Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia are opposing these limits. Instead, they are calling for more focus on recycling. According to The Lancet, large petrochemical companies are now turning to plastics as demand for fossil fuels falls. This shift is a major reason for the rapid increase in plastic production.
The study also highlights that plastic pollution harms low-income and vulnerable groups the most. Microplastics, once thought to affect only oceans and rivers, are now being found inside the human body, including in brain tissue, embryos and breast milk.
Calling plastic “the defining material of our age,” The Lancet warns of its deep and growing threat to human health. The new Countdown project will now track how governments and industries respond to this global crisis.
The authors of the Lancet study underlined the urgent need for global cooperation to reduce plastic production and ensure transparency in chemical use.
They noted that the health impacts of plastics, much like those of lead and air pollution, are preventable through “evidence-based, transparently tracked, and well-financed interventions.” The Countdown initiative, they argued, should serve not only as a data source but as a tool for accountability.
India is among the world’s fastest-growing plastic markets, with widespread use in packaging, agriculture, and manufacturing. However, public awareness of chemical exposure and microplastics remains limited. Experts say that while bans on single-use plastics are a start, broader reforms are needed to reduce chemical-laden plastic production and improve waste handling systems.
“If not plastics, humans would have invented something else, believing it to be another great achievement, without realising it could harm us in the future. Now that microplastics have spread across the entire planet, we may not be able to completely remove them, but it is our responsibility to reduce their impact as much as possible,” said Dr Madhavan.
As the Lancet Countdown continues tracking the plastic-health crisis globally, researchers and policymakers alike are expected to face rising pressure to shift focus from just managing waste to regulating the full plastic life cycle.
As Dr Madhavan warned, “The plastic we use today will stay in the environment for more than thousands of years, unless we act quickly and consistently to stop the harm.”
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
