Every day, we all do things that are more dangerous than we probably realize.
For example, many people have a fear of flying—especially lately. But did you know that, statistically, you will almost surely never be in a plane crash? You will, however, be in three to four car crashes over the course of your life.
Some of these dangers can’t be avoided. That said, you can take precautions against others. Now, a user on TikTok says that there’s one item that you might want to reconsider having in your home. What is it?
Why Does This Catastrophic Injury Lawyer ‘Never’ Use This One Item?
In a TikTok video with over 8.3 million views, Tommy (@tommythelawyer) says there’s one product of which he is “most afraid.” Tommy is a catastrophic injury and death lawyer based in Philadelphia.
That product he warns against? “Roundup, the weed killer.”
“If you don’t know this already, there have been study after study that demonstrates a link between use of Roundup and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), a type of blood cancer,” he says.
Even if one only uses it for a brief period and then stops, they may not be safe. Tommy warns that the symptoms of Roundup use may not appear until long after usage has ceased.
“The period between when you’re exposed to the chemical … and the time that your cancer is diagnosed can be 5, 10, even 20 years,” he shares. “You might not even get the diagnosis until up to 20 years after you used the product.”
Given this latency period, many people feel they can’t sue for damages they believe to be caused by Roundup. The TikToker says this is not the case.
“They’ve said that they have a new mixture that changed the ingredients and makes it safer, while at the same time arguing in court that the original mixture and the original ingredients aren’t dangerous,” he notes in conclusion.
Is This True?
Tommy appears to be correct about the latency period of NHL. But is Roundup really known to cause it?
To start, it would appear that Tommy is referring to Roundup with glyphosate. This is because he notes the existence of a “new formulation” that purports to be safer. The RoundUp Lawn & Garden line no longer contains glyphosate, per the Bayer website. That said, it did prior to 2021, and glyphosate is still used in agricultural applications.
Multiple studies have, in fact, shown a link between glyphosate products and an increased risk of NHL. In response, some organizations, such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), have concluded that glyphosate-based Roundup is probably carcinogenic to humans.
Overall, Bayer has paid about $10 billion to settle claims that glyphosate-based Roundup. It has also threatened to stop selling the product in the United States unless it can have additional protections against litigation. Despite this, the company insists that glyphosate is safe to use, noting that use of the product is allowed by both the EPA and the European Union.
@tommythelawyer I won’t go near this stuff 🗣️ #fyp #safety #products #lymphoma #nonhodgkinslymphoma
Commenters Don’t Like It
In the comments section, users told their own Roundup stories, with many expressing dismay that the product is still on the market.
“Yep! I used Roundup From 2001-2008, Dx with Large BCell lymphoma 2008 in my right hip,” wrote a user. “My cat was on the lawn with me daily. Same exact Cancer in right hip!”
“My dad used this on our lawn and a year later our dog got diagnosed with lymphoma and has passed,” shared another.
“Something really frustrating is even if you don’t use roundup on your own property, there’s little to no way of knowing what public spaces use it,” noted another.
UPDATE: A spokesperson for Bayer, addressing the safety of its products, told BroBible that “Bayer stands behind the safety of our glyphosate-based products which have been tested extensively, approved by regulators and used around the globe for 50 years. The EPA has an extremely rigorous review process which spans multiple decades, considers thousands of studies and involves many independent risk assessment experts at the EPA.”
They continued, “Regulators around the world – including the EPA, EU, Germany, Australia, Korea, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and others have repeatedly concluded that glyphosate-based products – which are the most widely used and extensively studied products of their kind – can be used safely according to the product label directions.”
And addressing the transition from glyphosate to new formulations in residential Roundup, the spokesperson added the following:
“We took this action exclusively to help manage litigation risk and not because of any safety concerns. The vast majority of claims have come from residential lawn and garden users, so this action largely eliminates the primary source of future claims. This action does not impact any of our glyphosate-based agriculture or professional products.”
BroBible reached out to Tommy via TikTok DM and comment.