14 DAY TRIAL // Do you want to save the Earth? Then, use energy-saving light bulbs: they consume one quarter of the energy of conventional light bulbs. They save 2,000 times their weight in greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide). This would worth their five times higher price. But watch out: this could bring you a severe headache!
While the British Migraine Action Association warns that fluorescent bulbs have triggered in 2007 epilepsy seizure in a small number of patients, but also migraine attacks, the government is planning to forbid the sale of conventional light bulbs by 2011, turning UK into the first European country to remove traditional bulbs, with the aim of cutting off some of the carbon dioxide emissions.
Epilepsy Action and other charities are talking about a high risk of seizures from energy-saving bulbs, mainly due to the "flickering" effect. Also, patients with lupus, a chronic auto-immune disease provoking pain and extreme tiredness, experienced adverse effects.
"A voluntary agreement with retailers would remove all conventional bulbs from the shops by December 2011", Hilary Benn, Environment Secretary, announced in September 2007.
"This could be damaging to some sufferers. When the Government announced that traditional light bulbs would be phased out, we were inundated with over 200 calls and emails from members who said the flickering had caused migraines. This is a debilitating condition which can often leave people bed-ridden for days. Up to six million people in the UK suffer from some sort of migraine attack. These bulbs do trigger migraines for some of our members - it's either the flickering, or the low intensity of the light, causing eye strain. We would ask the government to avoid banning them completely, and still leave some opportunity for conventional bulbs to be purchased", said Karen Manning, from the Migraine Action Association.
"The latest energy-saving bulbs does not produce a flicker. A small number of cases have been reported by people who suffer from reactions to certain types of linear fluorescent lamps. These were almost certainly triggered by old technology", said a spokesman of the Lighting Association, representing bulb manufacturers.