5 ms·

I'm not sure if I understand what the problem is here. Would you rather not have this information available? It allows you to look up the info about the chemica

I'm not sure if I understand what the problem is here. Would you rather not have this information available? It allows you to look up the info about the chemical and decide for yourself if you're ok with it.

zokier 4y ago
Putting warnings on everything teaches people just to ignore the warnings, which is net-negative effect.
- bialpio 4y ago
  But at what level of increased cancer risk do you draw the line? 2x higher risk? 5 / 100 000 higher incidence? Whatever you pick, it won't be the risk level that is acceptable to everyone (as the pandemic shows, people have different tolerance to risk). I think I prefer a world where the consumer is given more information, ideally with sufficient context to make an informed choice.
  - assttoasstmgr 4y ago
    > I think I prefer a world where the consumer is given more information, ideally with sufficient context to make an informed choice. So a bag of potato chips should come with a Safety Data Sheet? Maybe a big red tag attached to persimmons in the produce department warning you they can cause bezoars? I prefer a world where that's considered insane. The human race has made it this far without this degree of coddling. And no, I'm not suggesting we go back to the days of steak and cigarette sandwiches but people should be entrusted to make reasonable decisions without the need for scare tactics.
    - bialpio 4y ago
      > So a bag of potato chips should come with a Safety Data Sheet? Or a QR code w/ link to SDS for those who care. > Maybe a big red tag attached to persimmons in the produce department warning you they can cause bezoars? Great idea! I have not known about unripened persimmons causing bezoars, thank you! > The human race has made it this far without this degree of coddling. And no, I'm not suggesting we go back to the days of steak and cigarette sandwiches but people should be entrusted to make reasonable decisions without the need for scare tactics. Why put warnings on cigarettes / alcohol at all then? Why isn't that "too much coddling"? Human race will survive even if we go back to using leaded gasoline and asbestos (after all, it survived a period when that was common), so if that's the only goal you have, I think we're already there and the warnings are not reducing our chances. > (...) people should be entrusted to make reasonable decisions without the need for scare tactics. And how do you make sure that they do? What's reasonable for you is not the same as what's reasonable for me. What you think may be common knowledge may not be as common for others (TIL about persimmons).
ben_w 4y ago
From what I understand, there are penalties for failing to display that message when such substances are present, but no penalties for displaying it when they aren’t, so even if you see it it may just be covering backsides rather than actually useful.
- bialpio 4y ago
  But then aren't you at a disadvantage when you display such a warning and your competitor doesn't? Reminds me of https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dictatorship-of-the-small-minority-3f1f83ce4e15 https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dict...
  - ben_w 4y ago
    Yes, perhaps. Out of curiosity I’ve locked up the list. It includes: “alcoholic beverages”, “bitumen”, “leather dust”, “testosterone”, “unleaded gasoline”, “wood dust”, and I can also recognise several medicines on the list. I wonder if it’s even possible to avoid all these things?

zokier 4y ago

Putting warnings on everything teaches people just to ignore the warnings, which is net-negative effect.

bialpio 4y ago
But at what level of increased cancer risk do you draw the line? 2x higher risk? 5 / 100 000 higher incidence? Whatever you pick, it won't be the risk level that is acceptable to everyone (as the pandemic shows, people have different tolerance to risk). I think I prefer a world where the consumer is given more information, ideally with sufficient context to make an informed choice.
- assttoasstmgr 4y ago
  > I think I prefer a world where the consumer is given more information, ideally with sufficient context to make an informed choice. So a bag of potato chips should come with a Safety Data Sheet? Maybe a big red tag attached to persimmons in the produce department warning you they can cause bezoars? I prefer a world where that's considered insane. The human race has made it this far without this degree of coddling. And no, I'm not suggesting we go back to the days of steak and cigarette sandwiches but people should be entrusted to make reasonable decisions without the need for scare tactics.
  - bialpio 4y ago
    > So a bag of potato chips should come with a Safety Data Sheet? Or a QR code w/ link to SDS for those who care. > Maybe a big red tag attached to persimmons in the produce department warning you they can cause bezoars? Great idea! I have not known about unripened persimmons causing bezoars, thank you! > The human race has made it this far without this degree of coddling. And no, I'm not suggesting we go back to the days of steak and cigarette sandwiches but people should be entrusted to make reasonable decisions without the need for scare tactics. Why put warnings on cigarettes / alcohol at all then? Why isn't that "too much coddling"? Human race will survive even if we go back to using leaded gasoline and asbestos (after all, it survived a period when that was common), so if that's the only goal you have, I think we're already there and the warnings are not reducing our chances. > (...) people should be entrusted to make reasonable decisions without the need for scare tactics. And how do you make sure that they do? What's reasonable for you is not the same as what's reasonable for me. What you think may be common knowledge may not be as common for others (TIL about persimmons).

ben_w 4y ago

From what I understand, there are penalties for failing to display that message when such substances are present, but no penalties for displaying it when they aren’t, so even if you see it it may just be covering backsides rather than actually useful.

bialpio 4y ago
But then aren't you at a disadvantage when you display such a warning and your competitor doesn't? Reminds me of https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dictatorship-of-the-small-minority-3f1f83ce4e15 https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dict...
- ben_w 4y ago
  Yes, perhaps. Out of curiosity I’ve locked up the list. It includes: “alcoholic beverages”, “bitumen”, “leather dust”, “testosterone”, “unleaded gasoline”, “wood dust”, and I can also recognise several medicines on the list. I wonder if it’s even possible to avoid all these things?