In 2025 an international team of scientists announced The Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics’ work on indicators to quantify the harm of plastics to health, to identify interventions to mitigate harm, and to describe the pertinent knowledge gaps.
In a commentary article published in The Lancet on April 16, 2026, the Countdown scientists highlight why tackling the manifold health impacts of plastics matters, because the evidence is “strong” that plastics at all lifecycle stages harm human and planetary health. The authors further explain that many of these impacts are caused by the more than 16,000 chemicals found in plastics. Plastics accelerating climate change and enabling ultra-processed foods are additional factors contributing to its harmful impacts.
The scientists particularly highlight micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), for which emerging evidence suggests that these particles are also associated with health impacts. While some critics question the validity of studies detecting MNPs in human tissues and associating them with disease, the authors explain that this “debate is a healthy part of the inherently iterative and incremental nature of new scientific discovery for which uncertainties are expected, assessed, and repeatedly retested”. However, debate in itself should not be taken to imply that MNPs are absent in humans, harmless, or that observed health effects can be disregarded. Rather, these discussions emphasize the need for robust, sensitive analytical methods to reliably characterize MNPs in human tissues and improve understanding of their health risks.
To prevent the multiple harms of plastics to health, the commentary stresses the need for a strong global plastics treaty covering the entire life cycle of plastics and plastic chemicals of concern. In addition to global action, local and national measures are also required, alongside efforts by health professionals and researchers to educate others and speak out.
Reference
Rocklöv, J. et al. (2026). “Plastics, plastic chemicals, and microplastics: multiple harms to health.” The Lancet. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(26)00647-1
This article was originally published by Lisa Zimmermann at the Food Packaging Forum.
