Breast Cancer Urban Legend

So I get this email today:

Subject: Bottled water in your car warning

WARN YOUR WIVES/GIRLFRIENDS AND DAUGHTERS

Bottled water in your car…..very dangerous, woman!!!!

This is how Sheryl Crow got breast cancer. She was on the Ellen show and said this same exact thing. This has been identified as the most common cause of the high levels in breast cancer, especially in Australia.

A friend whose mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The Doctor told her: women should not drink bottled water that has been left in a car.

The doctor said that the heat and the plastic of the bottle have certain chemicals that can lead to breast cancer. So please be careful and do not drink bottled water that has been left in a car, and, pass this on to all the women in your life. This information is the kind we need to know and be aware and just might save us!!!! The heat causes toxins from the plastic to leak into the water and they have found these toxins in breast tissue. Use a stainless steel Canteen or a glass bottle when you can!!!

Let everyone that has a wife/girlfriend and daughter know please.

So, while I’m the first to want to stop breast cancer, I felt instantly skeptical (maybe because I have a case of Poland Spring in my car at all times to drink at my leisure.)

Since I’m all for research and finding answers to questions and clarification when there’s doubt, I went to snopes.com and checked it out. (Snopes.com is a reference page to debunk urban legends and other spam-like myths floating around the Internet.)

So, for the record, this is a false claim that started heading around the internet in 2007. Just read the page I linked to above and you’ll see how it all got started.

Now, that being said … I’m not saying we should all be reusing our plastic bottles — but drinking from an unopened bottle of water that has been in your car isn’t a problem.