In September the government announced a new initiative which would see all incandescent bulbs emilinated by 2012. The project will allegedly decrease the amount of carbn dioxide being released into the atmosphere by 20m tonnes per year.

The initiative has caused some controversary among political parties and enviornomentalists with some people believing the government weren’t making adequeate efforts compared to countries like Australia who have commited to phasing out the bulbs completely by 2009.

However, experts say that the switch to low-energy bulbs may not be as good an idea as we think. Floursesant bulbs often cause bad reactions particularly for people with photosensitive skin.

Health conditions surrounding or involving light sensitivity include lupus, Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), some forms of eczema and dermatitis, porphyria and the aforementioned photosensitivity.

An estimated 100,000 people in the UK alone are affected in some way or another by one or more of these conditions and reps in the lighting industry have assured us that alternatives to fluorescent lighting will be available.