I have always had nagging doubts about non-stick cookware. The idea of heating food on a pan coated in cling-free plastic seemed too good to be true. So why do I have a few non-stick tools in my kitchen arsenal? I don’t believe they are superior implements. Instead, I admit that the convenience of them found favor with my lazy inner scullery maid.

There are, however, few shortcuts in life, and a little elbow grease at the end of a cooking extravaganza is finding renewal. The reason is that on Dec. 14, 2005, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) settled the largest penalty — in excess of $10 million — that the EPA has ever obtained under any environmental statute. The charges, according to two civil administrative complaints filed last year, say DuPont failed to comply with federal law and supply data on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon™. Curiously, the settlement occurred two days after DuPont topped BusinessWeek’s ranking of “The Top Green Companies.”

There’s a prevailing attitude in the medical establishment today that could be called “double-blind blindness.” If any substance has not undergone proper clinical trials — i.e., double-blind, placebo-controlled and published in a peer-reviewed journal — then it is simply not worthy of consideration.

Last year, when I had chronic bronchitis, I asked the lung specialist if I could take two special herbals (astragalus and maitake) to wipe out the last traces of the problem. Up until then, she had impressed me as warm, gracious and extremely competent. I will never forget her cold, dismissive smile, really more of a sneer. “They have no double-blind trials.”

In the midst of what may be the biggest season for the manufacturers of over-the-counter (OTC) painkillers, North America’s favorite medications are a hot topic around the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada, as well as at such public-interest groups as the National Consumers League in Washington. After decades of no-questions-asked distribution, reports of adverse drug reactions to OTC pain medications are filling a dossier.

Anyone concerned about the connection between environmental health and human health received an early holiday gift last week. The good news came from computer-software giant Microsoft, which announced it would complete its phase-out of packaging made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as promised by the end of 2005. The milestone makes Microsoft the most recent, and perhaps the most influential, name on a growing list of corporations — including Samsung, Johnson & Johnson, and Intimate Brands (owner of Victoria’s Secret, and Bath and Body Works) — that are shaking the PVC habit. Since last summer, Microsoft has already eliminated more than 350,000 pounds of the material, primarily hard plastic “clamshell” cases used for computer parts, from its packaging stream in favor of environmentally friendly alternatives, such as boxboard.

Breast implants are in the forefront of the news again this week – and the news is, as usual, not all good.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT!

Would you believe that after I flushed my toilet yesterday, I saw a "pop-up" ad emerge from the hole in the back of the bowl?

It was on a piece of paper, floating in the water, and said, "Buy Charmin," in big, red, white and blue waterproof colors. At the bottom of the ad was the comforting line, "To have these ads discontinued, please call 1-877-OKCHARMIN. I dialed as instructed, and a truly entrancing female voice said my call would be monitored so the company could ensure "quality service" to its "valued customers."

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF COLGATE-PALMOLIVE

Dear President:

I am writing to you as a consumer who still has a few teeth left in his mouth, lots of "hard stuff" between the gums and teeth (my dentist just told me), and bad breath on occasion (don’t ask!). I am seriously considering using your product, Colgate Toothpaste, but after looking at the many boxes on the shelves of my local Duane Reade for nearly an hour, and taking detailed notes, I am somewhat confused about which "version" of Colgate to buy. I also have some questions I’d like you to answer, based on what I read on your boxes, so that I may decide whether to become a loyal Colgate user or consider some sort of action against you and your company on behalf of all brain-functioning consumers who use or have ever used your successful product.

Are They Going To Dumb Us Down?

Imagine putting a band-aid on a cut and you hear it say, "There is an increase in heat that indicates swelling," or you watch it flashing or hear it beeping to indicate a buildup of bacteria. Consumer-industry mavens refer to this type of product as "smart."

Consider the "smart" band-aid that is about to be marketed. The "brain" in the band-aid, it turns out, consists of built-in sensors - a little microchip - that you can program to sense whatever you need to know about the wound under the bandage. In addition to giving you feedback, the "band-aid brain" can store and process the information about the wound, which you can then bring to your doctor. Isn’t that something?

At first glance, this innovation may seem terrific. After all, what could be bad about a product that communicates with you and provides you with information about some bodily function? Just think, the band-aid could be programmed to say, "I need to be changed, I am full of pus, filthy and disgusting.

How many people might be overjoyed by the arrival of smart products at their doorsteps? New mothers might be thrilled to have baby diapers that start to sing "Cry Me A River" when wet, and senior citizens might be ecstatic to have their diapers let them know when they’re wet (but not too loudly, if company is present).

Yes, but what does it all mean in the context of the totality of everyday life? What will happen if smart products become ubiquitous, so that almost everything is smart?

Is this the kind of world you want?

Here are several more examples of smart products that we’ll either love or hate: