Bibek Debroy: Twenty-one reasons to ban DHMO

Once you realise this is the single largest ingredient in colas, the case gets strengthened.

Di-hydrogen monoxide (DHMO) is a colourless and odourless chemical compound. It also goes by the names of dihydrogen oxide, hydrogen hydroxide, hydronium hydroxide and hydric acid. DHMO hasn't yet been classified as a toxic or carcinogenic substance, but is a constituent of many toxic substances, diseases and disease-causing agents. It causes environmental hazards and can be lethal to humans.

As world population has increased, so have dangers of DHMO. Consider the following: (1) Even small quantities of inhalation of DHMO leads to deaths.

(2) Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage. (3) Excessive ingestion of DHMO is not life-threatening, but can lead to unpleasant side effects. (4) DHMO is a major component of acid rain. (5) Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns. (6) DHMO contributes to soil erosion. (7) Many metals are corroded and oxidised by DHMO. (8) DHMO contaminates electrical systems and causes short-circuit. (9) Exposure to DHMO reduces the effectiveness of automobile brakes. (10) DHMO is found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumours and lesions. (11) DHMO is associated with killer cyclones. (12) Thermal variations in DHMO are suspected to contribute to the El Nino effect. (13) DHMO is used in manufacture of chemical and biological weapons. (14) DHMO is used in abortion clinics. (15) DHMO is an ingredient in home-made bombs. (16) DHMO has been used in death camps and prisons as an instrument of torture. (17) There has been DHMO overdose in kidney dialysis patients. (18) Athletes, especially long-distance runners and cyclists, use large amounts of DHMO prior to a race. But this doesn't show up in post-race urine tests. (19) DHMO contributes to the greenhouse effect. (20) DHMO contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape. (21) Even after careful washing, food contaminated by DHMO continues to remain thus contaminated.

There are many more adverse effects associated with DHMO and these can be found at www.dhmo.org, from which, I have reproduced the above. Typical symptoms of DHMO overdose are excessive sweating, excessive urination, bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting, electrolyte imbalance, hyponatremia, dangerously imbalanced levels of ECF and ICF in the blood and degeneration of sodium homeostasis. Despite this, there are no standards on DHMO usage and DHMO is freely found in schools. And it is freely used as an industrial solvent and coolant, in nuclear power plants, as a fire retardant, in the distribution of chemicals and pesticides, in cruel experiments on animals, as an additive in junk foods and in the production of Styrofoam. Companies dump waste DHMO into oceans and rivers. Not only do governments refuse to ban production, distribution and imports of DHMO, they help store it and encourage its distribution through underground networks. This is partly because people are not completely aware about the dangers associated with DHMO and more information dissemination is required. For instance, when this information was circulated to a sample, Dr Nathan Zohner found that 86 per cent of the sample supported a ban on DHMO. In a parallel study, Patrick McCluskey and Matthew Kulick found that 90 per cent of respondents were willing to sign a petition supporting a ban on DHMO.

In 1997, a student named Nathan Zohner, from Eagle Rock Junior High School (Idaho Falls), based his science fair project on dangers of DHMO. This analysis won Zohner first prize in the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair. Of the 50 students to whom the findings were presented, 43 wanted a ban on DHMO and six were undecided. Aliso Viejo is a suburb of Orange County and in March 2004, the municipality there was about to pass a law that would have banned the use of foam containers at city-sponsored events, because foam containers used DHMO, which could "threaten human health and safety". Eventually, the City Council didn't go through with the legislation, because they realised what DHMO actually was, as did the single student who didn't fall for Nathan Zohner's gag. If one were to add the information that DHMO is the single most important ingredient in cola drinks, the case for banning cola will be strengthened. Unless you have seen through what DHMO actually is, and realised that it is nothing but plain water. This doesn't mean that the facts I have stated above are false. If you run through them, you will find that they are completely true. This raises a broader sociological question. Why are we so gullible and why do we love bans? For that matter, why do we love legislation as a solution to all problems, regardless of enforcement? Censorship, smoking scenes in films and now, carrying DHMO during air travel. Does it somehow salve our consciences that we have done something for the betterment of the world?

Or is there a Vitalstatistix syndrome at work here, meaning the village chief in the Asterix comics? Vitalstatistix was constantly worried about the sky falling on his head. Is a Malthusian kind of pessimism about the worst befalling us, bred into our genes? Has human evolution and survival depended on protecting against the worst, however improbable, even though progress has been a function of taking risks? We must protect against that saber-toothed tiger getting us, even if we know we must hunt it.