Paper Receipts Are Trying to Kill Us, and Honestly, I Knew It
Paper receipts are officially out to get us. Turns out, they’re loaded with a hormone-wrecking chemical called BPS — and just holding one for a few seconds can have “serious…
receipt after payment in the supermarket
Paper receipts are officially out to get us.
Turns out, they’re loaded with a hormone-wrecking chemical called BPS — and just holding one for a few seconds can have “serious health consequences.”
Oh, you thought you were just buying shampoo and a pack of gum? WRONG.
You were signing up for a slow, chemically-induced death.
Look, I’ve been suspicious of paper receipts forever.
The weird, waxy feel?
The toxic smell that somehow sticks to your fingers longer than fried fish?
The fact that they self-destruct into blank ghost paper after three months?
Sketchy.
You don’t need a PhD to know these little scrolls of doom are bad news.
According to Very Smart People, these receipts are slathered in Bisphenol S (BPS), a "forever chemical" that loves pretending it’s estrogen and wrecking your body's vibe — metabolism, growth, reproduction, the whole shebang. Scientists even tested it on goldfish and said, "Wow, this stuff could seriously fry human brains too."
Cool cool cool.
Of course, corporations have known receipts were laced with BPS for years.
Did they do anything? No. Did they stop printing receipts longer than my tax return?
And now, finally, after a new study by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH), people are mad enough to sue over it. Retailers could actually get sued if they don’t warn you that your receipt is trying to sabotage your endocrine system. (Honestly, I would pay extra to watch Linda from CVS have to slap a WARNING LABEL on a 12-foot-long receipt.)
No. Instead, paper receipts basically paper-mache poison.
And yes, if you work with receipts every day, they recommend you start rocking gloves like you're about to perform surgery.
For the rest of us? Just say NO. Say it loud. Say it proud. "NO, I WOULD NOT LIKE THE RECEIPT, LINDA." Take the digital receipt. Send it to your secret email address that only collects junk like warranty confirmations and Sephora birthday coupons.
Bottom line: Trust your instincts. The receipts felt cursed for a reason. They were. Next time you’re offered one, run like it’s 2007 and someone’s trying to hand you a flyer outside the mall.
Stay safe. Stay receipt-free. And maybe invest in some fish. They're apparently the canaries in this particular paper mine.
