By Savanna Dodd, Student Pharmacist and Karen L. Kier, Pharmacist
On behalf of ONU Healthwise Pharmacy 

On December 21, 1967, the movie The Graduate was released. Dustin Hoffman starred in the movie as Benjamin Braddock, who just graduated from college with a Bachelor’s degree and has moved home to Pasadena, California. The actor Walter Brooke, who played Mr. McGuire, gives Benjamin his advice for the future.  He tells him one word—plastics! “There’s a great future in plastics.”

The surge in manufacturing plastics started after World War II and ramped up in the 1950s. Manufacturing doubled every 10 years after this time. So, Mr. McGuire was not wrong about a future in plastics. Plastics continue to be used in numerous manufacturing processes and products.

Plastics polluting our environment could be affecting your health, but why? When plastics are released into nature, they take many years to break down. The breakdown of plastics leads to the formation of microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs). MNPs are extremely small pieces of plastic. These MNPs enter our bodies and can potentially be harmful to our health. Several studies have shown that MNPs can enter our bodies through skin contact, eating, drinking and even breathing. Once they have entered our bodies, MNPs will interact with tissues, cells and organs. 

Results from a study were presented at the American Chemical Society meeting on March 25, 2025 indicating a high level of microplastics in chewing gum. One stick of gum can release 100 to 637 microplastic particles into our bodies. A November 2024 study in the journal Chemosphere, found some tea bags can release millions of microplastic particles into our system. Other products containing microplastics can include cosmetics, food packaging, tap water and bottled water. 

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine was completed to see if MNPs are a potential risk for heart and blood vessel disease. In the study, patients with carotid artery hardening without any signs or symptoms of disease and not receiving medical therapy were screened. Patients were put into two groups. 

The patients agreed to go through a surgical procedure to remove plaque (the hard, fatty substance that can build up in the blood vessels) to evaluate the presence of MNPs. One group had MNPs found in their plaque and the other group did not have MNPs present. 

After patients had a surgical procedure to remove the plaque, samples of plaque were collected and the patients were followed for about three years. During these three years, the study observed patients for nonfatal heart attacks, nonfatal strokes and deaths from any cause. In patients without MNPs found in their plaque, 7.5% (8/107) had a heart event. In patients with MNPs found in their plaque, 20% (30/150) had events. Although more research needs to be done, this shows that MNPs may be a potential risk for heart and blood vessel disease.

As for preventing MNPs, avoiding plastics use can help lessen your risk of exposure. Some examples include: avoiding single-use plastics and highly processed, single-packaged foods, switching from plastic to glass containers, vacuuming more frequently and washing your clothes less often.

Both the FDA (https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/microplastics-a...) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (https://www.epa.gov/water-research/microplastics-research) provide good insight into the research in MNPs in both food and water.

In retrospect, could Mr. McGuire have been wrong about plastics?

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