Is there a killer lurking in your kitchen? A catastrophic injury lawyer is using his TikTok account to warn against a potential carcinogen hiding in your home. And you might be using it every day.
The Daily Dot previously covered Tommy the Lawyer (@tommythelawyer) when he went viral warning others about the danger of the weed killer Roundup. Now he’s back and telling viewers to get rid of another common household item.
Tommy posted his new warning yesterday. So far it’s picked up over 202,600 views and counting.
A ‘dangerous’ household item
“As a catastrophic injury lawyer who deals with some of the most dangerous products in the world, every single day,” Tommy states at the beginning. He claims, “The one product that I would tell anybody, that I think is extremely common, that I would tell anybody not to use, and it might sound stupid, is nonstick frying pans.”
According to Healthline.com, “Nonstick cookware, such as frying pans and saucepans, gets coated with a material called polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), commonly known as Teflon.”
“Almost every, if not every nonstick frying pan is made up of Teflon,” Tommy tells his viewers. He then claims that the chemical compound, “has been clearly shown to cause cancer when consumed.”
“Use stainless steel [pans],” Tommy concludes.
@tommythelawyer Throw these out 🗣️ #foryou #fyp #tips #cancer #health #safety #household ♬ original sound – tommythelawyer
Viewers weigh in
One viewer responded to the warning with a facetious, “I’m dead then …been dead a long time ago!” while another wrote, “I have nonstick pans but luckily I never cook.”
However, most viewers agreed with Tommy’s advice.
“I’m trying to get rid of them slowly but good pans are expensive as hell,” Gigi la Bruja (@gigi.la.bruja) wrote.
Another viewer commented, “I don’t understand why people still don’t know it! Thanks for bringing it up!”
“I learned about stainless steel pans on TikTok and got rid of all my Teflon. The food tastes better! If you learn how to use SS pans, they are nonstick,” another viewer added.
Several other viewers referenced the 2019 film Dark Waters, a dramatized account of one of the first major lawsuits against Teflon featuring Mark Ruffalo.
“Watch Dark Waters!!! on Netflix and everyone needs to watch,” evee_eeve (@evee_eeve) wrote.
“Watch DARK WATERS!!!” another viewer added.
According to Healthline, “Studies have generally involved very high exposures to PFOA and the results have been mixed. Some research suggests that high levels of certain poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may lead to an increased risk of several different cancers.”
However, they also note, “Since 2013, all Teflon-branded products are PFOA-free. Though there is some research that suggests a link between PFOA and cancer, there’s no proven link between Teflon and cancer.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Tommy via email and through his website for further comment.
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