Footnotes

• Presented at Several other journals around the world are co-publishing this Statement as there is an urgent need to advise the health professions and the global public of this critical information.

• Contributors The statement has been prepared on behalf of and endorsed by the Collegium Ramazzini, an independent, international society composed of 180 physicians and scientists from 35 countries.

• Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

• Competing interests None declared.

• Patient consent for publication Not required.

• Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.