The science is clear: Despite ongoing efforts to obfuscate, non-stick cookware is safe.
A massive multi-state effort is underway to take away Americans’ ability and choice to use nonstick pans, and it is all based on false pretenses that are not rooted in facts or science. New York is the latest battleground. The State Assembly is considering a bill that would ban nonstick pans in the State, removing a product from the market that is completely safe and highly affordable for New York families. The bill has already passed the Senate – all part of a concerning trend of rejecting science in favor of agenda-driven talking points. I sincerely hope the New York State Assembly will follow the science and reject the ban on nonstick cookware.
The issue really is simple. There are as many as 15,000 different chemicals that meet the definition of “forever chemicals”, or PFAS. Some are universally seen as harmful to humans. They go by names you might recognize, like PFOA or PFOS. They are typically a molecule that is eight carbon atoms long. These handful of chemicals have been studied and linked to various forms of cancer, as well as reproductive and developmental issues.
On the other end of the PFAS spectrum are fluoropolymers; still technically labeled a PFAS, but only because they contain carbon‑fluorine bonds. A fluoropolymer known as polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE, makes up most of this class of materials. Unlike the small PFAS chemicals that people worry about, PTFE molecules are made up of hundreds, sometimes over a thousand carbon atoms linked together. That size matters: these molecules are so large and stable that they don’t react with anything, don’t build up in the body, and if swallowed, they’re simply too big to pass through cell walls—so they move straight through the body without being absorbed. They’re also non‑toxic and won’t dissolve in water, which is why water agencies across the country don’t even test for them—they’re simply not considered a risk.
New York’s proposed legislation fails to recognize those distinctions.
As currently drafted, A7738A/S9073 would ban the following products that contain PTFE: non-stick cookware, coffee machines, refrigerators, and countless commercial and industrial applications in the steel, manufacturing and energy sectors.
Perhaps the strongest argument why PTFE is safe is because pacemakers, stents and catheters are coated with PTFE before they are implanted into human bodies. In fact, pacemakers have been coated with PTFE since the early 1960s. You’re reading that correctly: the medical community has deemed PTFE safe for putting inside human bodies. So why then are activists telling you that it’s dangerous to fry an egg on it? And no, heating up PTFE does nothing to change its molecular structure.
And it’s not just the medical profession that knows that PTFE is safe. Leading regulatory and scientific organizations — including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, and the American Cancer Society — have consistently concluded that PTFE-coated cookware is safe for normal consumer use.
There’s another fact that New Yorkers should know: the bill’s definition of “cookware” extends far beyond pots and pans. It includes products used in homes, restaurants, institutional kitchens, hospitals, schools, and commercial food operations intended for indoor and outdoor use. This legislation could effectively ban microwave ovens, grills, baking equipment, and numerous appliances that rely on PTFE in internal components for safety, insulation, and heat resistance.
When activists or professors talk in vague generalities about PFAS, as they often do, you need to ask them exactly which of the thousands of PFAS chemicals are they talking about? When we do that, we eventually hear them say, “Well, on their own, fluoropolymers are not known to be dangerous…” But then the word games begin again, the activists shift gears and conflate the issues by talking about all forms of PFAS, and they talk about disease and forever chemicals, using highly charged words that should rightfully scare all of us.
Unfortunately for them, science is science.
This debate should not be framed as a choice between public health and industry. We can protect drinking water and public health while also recognizing that not all PFAS compounds pose the same risks. Science-based policymaking means targeting substances proven to cause harm — not broadly banning materials simply because they share part of a chemical classification.
The good news is we’re convinced New Yorkers are smart enough to get that.
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