Wednesday, 9th July 2008
MEP demands opt out for Lupus sufferers
People with highly sensitive skin disorders may face suffering and stress as a result of a European Commission decision to ban incandescent bulbs in 2009 and to replace them with fluorescent or low energy bulbs.
Scottish Tory Euro MP Struan Stevenson has written to the European Commission demanding an opt-out for people who suffer from the Lupus SLE condition.
Speaking in Strasbourg he said:
"For most people the introduction of new low energy light bulbs might be a bit of an annoyance and expense but for some sufferers of Lupus SLE it is a disaster. I was recently contacted by a constituent from Scotland who is extremely concerned that with the imminent ban on incandescent bulbs in 2009 she and fellow sufferers’ lives will be made even more intolerable. Lupus is an auto-immune disease which affects over 50,000 people in the UK. It has a variety of symptoms, one of which can be acute light sensitivity – it is estimated that about 60% of Lupus sufferers have this problem to some degree. Sunlight exposure or the light from fluorescent and low energy bulbs can cause their skin to blister. Not only that but it can trigger a full blown systemic response including migraines, swollen and painful joints and depression. The current incandescent bulbs do not have the same adverse affect.
"I have now written to the Commission asking them to ensure that those who need incandescent bulbs for medical reasons will still be able to get them after 2009. Whilst I support every effort to cut carbon emissions and to make homes more energy efficient, this cannot be done at the expense of people’s health. There is a significant minority of European citizens, including many in Scotland, who already are suffering great pain and inconvenience because of their medical condition and who do not need any more difficulties brought into their lives because of decisions taken in Brussels. There must be some way of allowing these people to continue to use incandescent bulbs until a new technology has been developed which overcomes the problem. I hope the Commission will see sense and come up with a practical solution.”
