Plastic pollution is a "grave, growing and under-recognized danger" to health that is costing the world at least $1.5 trillion a year, experts warned in a report recently.
The new review of the existing evidence, which was carried out by leading health researchers and doctors, was published one day ahead of fresh talks opening in Geneva aiming to seal the world's first treaty on plastic pollution.
"Plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding US$1.5 trillion annually," said the review in The Lancet medical journal.
Comparing plastic to air pollution and lead, the report said its impact on health could be mitigated by laws and policies.
The experts called for the delegates from nearly 180 nations gathering in Geneva to finally agree to a treaty after previous failed attempts.
Philip Landrigan, a doctor and researcher at Boston College in the United States, warned that vulnerable people, particularly children, are most affected by plastic pollution.
"It is incumbent on us to act in response," he said in a statement.
