Does your smart meter make your nose bleed?
Are you terrified of your microwave?
Have you installed am anti-brain cancer thingy on your cell phone?
Welcome to the world of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and their alleged harmful effects.
For the last ten years or so, people have been worrying about EMFs, along with the increase in the use of electronics. And even though scientific data obtained so far is reassuring about the effects of EMFs on human health, a lot of people are still scared.
It took almost a year to create this comic. After all, the topic is mind-blowingly complex and, as a pharmacist, I am not at all qualified to speculate about it. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to work with two awesome collaborators from the very beginning:
Jérôme Poulin (Ph. D) is a physicist and researcher in optical physics. His Ph.D thesis was about cold atom guidance in a hollow-core photonic cristal fibre using a blue detuned hollow laser beam (Olivier’s note: I have no idea what that means… I think it’s about building the next Death Star or something). He was also part of the Electro-Urban Brigade, a team of scientists who measured the daily exposure to electromagnetic fields of citizens in the province of Quebec, Canada.
Michel Trottier-McDonald (Ph.D) is a physicist and data scientist. He namely worked on the ATLAS experiment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the CERN in order to find the Higgs Boson (Olivier’s note: yeah, that big thing).
None of us are experts on the effects of EMFs on health and we don’t pretend otherwise. Fortunately, scientific knowledge on the matter is advanced enough for us to relay conclusive evidence to you.
The 5 key messages of the comic go as follows:
- Certain types of electromagnetic radiation can break the molecules of the body, others cannot;
- Until proven otherwise, mobile/radio/Wi-Fi fields do not pose a threat to human health;
- Every day, we are exposed electromagnetic radiation that is hundreds, if not thousands of times below the international standards deemed safe;
- Symptoms experienced by people who identify as “electrosensitive” do not appear to be caused by electromagnetic fields;
- So-called experts and companies that pretend otherwise may not be trustworthy, or even qualified to discuss EMFs.
But hey, you should to read the comic before disagreeing…
So cover your head with aluminium foil, make holes for your eyes, turn off your router & 4G and read this right away!
P.S. As always, scientific references for this comic are listed in the first comment.
Translated by Patricia Rainville; edits and proofreading by Robyn Penney.
Posted in Comics
Tagged 4G, alarmist, aloe, aluminium foil, anti-EMF, apartment, baby monitor, balanced, bananas, Bioinitiative Report, Bluetooth, boil, bombarded, brain, brain cancer, brain cells, brain tumors, break, burn, cancer, cap, carcinogenic, cell phone, charismatic, claims, coconut oil, coffee, companies, conspiracy, cosmic rays, criticism, daily, dangerous, data, deposits, depression, device, distress, DNA, doctor, doubt, Earth, electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic hypersensitivity, electronics, electrophobia, electrosensitive, electrosensitivity, EMF, EMFs, emitters, energy, equipment, experts, exposure, Faraday cage, fatigue, gadgets, geeks, Group 2B, harmful, heache, health, heat, hermit, home, hoodie, house, human body, hurts, impacts, international standards, ionizing, irregular heartbeat, justification, knowledgeable, laser, leader, leukemia, light bulb, Linky, long-term, LTE, media, medicine, mental illness, metallic, microwave, mobile, molecules, motives, mutations, next-generation, Nobel, non-ionizing, nosebleeds, nuclear, objective, off, on, overblown, panties, participants, pendant, physicists, physics, possibly carcinogenic, potassium, power lines, pragmatism, precautionary principle, pregnancy belt, protection, psychological disorders, radiation, radio, radio towers, radio waves, radioactivity, reactions, reassuring, research, retina, router, safer, safety margin, scared, scientific evidence, scientists, scoop, screen, sick, signal, smart electric meter, smart meter, so-called, solid, stricter, suffering, suicides, sun, sunburn, sunlight, symptoms, technology, threat, tissues, trials, TV remote, ultraviolet, unanimous, under-diagnosed, unsafe, UV rays, visible light, waves, WHO, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi allergy, World Health Organization, wristband, X-rays
The cold season has begun.
But there’s something worse out there: the plethora of esoteric remedies to allegedly prevent and cure the common cold, like…
- Rubbing Vicks on your feet
- Sticking your face above a bowl of hot, scented water
- A swig of gin and/or cayenne and/or oregano oil
- Sweating out the virus
- The mustard plaster
- Flu busters
- Putting something in your bum (like suppositories)
- Chicken noodle soup
- Cough syrups
- Antibiotics
Being a pharmacist, I get asked about those all the time. And really, I don’t care if people wanna use medication, natural health products or home remedies… as long as what they do is safe, effective, evidence-based and science-based.
Would you like to know what works and what doesn’t? Here are the TOP 10 useless remedies for the common cold. Please laugh at each of them. They deserve it.
Translated by Valentin Nguyen; edits and proofreading by Robyn Penney.
Posted in Comics
Tagged 200, acidic, airways, allergic reactions, ancestors, anti-inflammatory, antibiotics, antifungal, antimicrobial, antiseptic, antiviral, apple cider vinegar, ass, bacteria, bad, balm, Benadryl, body, boost, bowl, breathe, bronchitis, broth, bullshitometer, bum, burns, buster, camphor, carrot, cataplasm, cayenne, celery, cells, chicken noodle soup, children, cinnamon, clear, clinical trials, clinically tested, codeine, cold, common cold, contraindicated, cooked, cough, cough reflex, cough syrup, coughing, counterirritation, danger, dead, detoxifying, dextromethorphane, diphenhydramine, disgusting, DM, doctor, dressing, drinking, drops, drugstores, ear infection, echinacea, effect, effective, elderberry, electrolytes, eliminating, esoteric, essential oils, eucalyptus, evidence-based, exaggerated, external, eye drops, feet, first sign, flu, foot, garlic clove, ginger, ginseng, grandmothers, gross, Gwyneth Paltrow, hallucinogenic, hazelwood necklace, head, healing, high dosage, high dose, home remedies, homeopathic, honey, hot liquid, hot water, hot yoga, humidity, hydrated, immune system, in vitro, infection, influenza, ingredients, inhaled, inhalers, inside, internal, intervention, intestines, irrigate, juniper, kids, lab, leeks, liquids, loosen, lozenges, lungs, marketing, masks, medication, menthol, misinterpreted, money, mouth-burning, mucus, mustard, natural health products, nausea, Neti pot, neurological, nose, ointments, opposite, orally, oregano oil, otitis, pain, penetrate, pepper, pharmacies, pharmacist, physician, pills, plaster, plausible, potato, poultice, preference, prolonging, properties, pure, real life, recipe, recovery, rectum, remedies, resistance, resistant, respiratory, rub, rubbing, run, safe, saline, salt, sauna, scented, science-based, scientific, secretions, seizures, selling, sick, sinus, sinuses, skin, smell, socks, soles, soothing, soup, stinging, strains, strengthens, strong, studies, substances, sucked, suffocation, superbacteria, suppository, swallow, swallowed, sweat, sweating, swelling, swig of gin, syrups, tablets, taste, teaspoon, tested, throat, throw up, towel, toxic, tract, turmeric, value, vapor, vegetable, Vicks, virus, vitamin C, vitamin E deficiency, vocabulary, warm, wet feet, wool, wrong, zinc
Have you read Part 1 of my No-Panic Guide to the Birth Control Pill? If not, please do so before scrolling down.
I’ll continue in the same line of thought with the second (and last) part: my goal is to make you UNDERSTAND the risks associated with the Pill so that you can look at what you read and hear from a different angle.
I won’t tell you what to do: what I hope is to offer you a place to start and give you the necessary tools to promote enlightened reflection.
While deciding on what to incorporate, I took into account the myriad comments and suggestions I received after the publication of Part 1. Obviously, I couldn’t cover everything. I would’ve gladly added a section dedicated to cancer and depression, discussed the alternatives to hormonal contraception, provided more practical examples… but I decided to limit the scope of the last comic in order to keep everything “digestible”.
I don’t expect everyone to be engrossed by the topic, let alone read it in its entirety. Without doubt, it’s the longest comic I’ve produced so far and it’s quite stuffy… I tried to shorten it as much as possible, but under no circumstances would I cut corners on such a serious and complex topic. My goal was to give women the necessary information for them to do their own critical thinking (such as being wary of allegations made by the media) and encourage open discussion with their doctors in all matters concerning the contraceptive pill.
If you manage to read the entire thing, you automatically win a bag of 1000 gummy bears that you can claim if you ever meet me in person.
In order to make sure that my comic is accurate, I asked for the help of Lyne Massicotte, a clinical biochemist. Lyne, whose work I greatly admire, is the cofounder – with her partner Mathieu – of Nasci Biologie Médicale, a medical lab specializing in male fertility. Thanks Lyne!
Translated by Qian Li (Pharm.D. candidate), proofread by Stéphanie Alcaraz-Robinson.
Posted in Comics
Tagged 1960s, 35 years old, acne, age of 35, alesse, artery, benefits, benign liver tumors, birth control pill, blood clots, blood disorders, breast cancer, cancer, cervical cancer, cholesterol, cigarettes, contraception, deaths, decision, deep vein thrombosis, delivery, diabetes, Diane-35, doctor, dose, DVT, endometrial cancer, estrogens, family history, favorable, first choice, follow-ups, gall bladder stones, generation, giving birth, headache, healthcare professional, hypertension, intervention, last resort, leg, libido, Linessa, lung, Marvelon, media, menstrual cramps, menstrual cycle, mood swings, nausea, Nuvaring, oral contraceptives, outweigh, ovarian cancer, physician, PMS, postpartum, pregnancy, premenstrual syndrome, progestin, pulmonary embolism, rare, risk factors, risk-benefit ratio, risks, safe, Seasonale, sex drive, side effects, smoke, smoking, stroke, The Pill, thromboembolism, Triquilar, trivial, unfavorable, vein, water retention, weight gain, women, Yasmin, Yaz
Stress and anxiety are helpful in life.
Imagine you’re hiking in Alaska, and you suddenly find yourself in front of a Kodiak bear that’s fresh out of hibernation and looking for his first meal. You can actually see drool coming out of his mouth, and the only defense you have is a spoon…
…Okay, bad example.
Let’s say you’re allergic to wasps. Stress is what tells you to be careful when they’re nearby. When you see a wasp, anxiety is what drives you to move in the opposite direction. These are normal defense mechanisms, and they’ve allowed human beings to evolve.
However, with evolution, the causes of anxiety changed in modern times: work, family, money, health, and so on. Cavemen didn’t care about all of that… but today, these are the things that stress us the most.
Today I’m going to talk about Generalized Anxiety Disorder, like I did before with depression. Although it’s a really common disorder, few people easily accept it or feel comfortable talking about it.
Note: You might need a little effort and imagination to get into this comic strip… but you’ll definitely appreciate it more if you try to go along with my unusual analogies. Enjoy!
Translated by Ellie Rieber with edits by Patricia Rainville; proofread by Stéphanie Alcaraz-Robinson.
Posted in Comics
Tagged amygdala, anxiety, anxious, back, balance, body, book recommendation, brain, brakes, can't breathe, career, CBT, chemical, cognitive-behavioural therapy, collar, concerns, depression, diagnosis, diarrhea, doctor, electric, everyday life, evidence-based, exaggerated, examined, exams, experiment, family, feelings, focus, GAD, generalized anxiety disorder, get rid of, going to die, health, healthy, heart problems, help, homework, hope, hurting, imaginary, keys, legs, locks, loved ones, mechanism, medical file, medication, metal, missed opportunities, money, muscles, neck, neurotransmitters, pain, panic, panic attacks, prefrontal cortex, prisoner, professionals, psychological, psychologist, psychotherapy, real world, reassuring, restless, self-help, serious, shock, sick, sleep, stiff, stomachaches, stress, stressful, symptoms, tense, test, therapist, thought patterns, tired, uncontrollable, unlocking, work, worried, worries
Feeling depressed? It happens to everyone: bad day, fight with a loved one, difficulties at work, visiting relatives for a week … there are tons of reasons for feeling “down”.
Suffering from depression, however, is a completely different thing. The person loses interest in activities they love. They no longer have fun. They are deeply tired, anxious and not sleeping well. Sometimes, they think it might be better if they weren’t alive anymore. It’s a serious health condition that requires quick medical and psychological intervention.
Unfortunately, many prejudices exist about depression. How many times have you heard comments such as:
“He’s not really depressed … he just pretends to get a sick leave!”
“Depressed, is she? We work 10 times harder and we’re not depressed! She’s just weak and she doesn’t want to get a hold of herself. She likes it when people pity her.”
While it’s true that fraud in sick leaves constitutes a real problem and that depressed people often have to make changes in their lives in order to heal, prejudices of the sort do nothing to improve the situation.
This comic tries to.
Translation by Olivier Bernard, proofreading by Lauren Knight.
Posted in Comics
Tagged antidepressants, brain chemistry, care, condition, dark thoughts, death, depressed, depression, disease, doctor, effective, enthusiasm, fatal, feeling down, feeling sorry for yourself, forms, friend, fun, golf, job, lazy, misunderstood, mountain, negative feelings, patterns, physician, ping-pong, pleasure, prejudices, psychologist, psychotherapy, severe, sick leave, socialize, suicide, support, taboos, tasks, tired, treatment, vacation, willingness, work
