Indeed. I'm not a big fan of Teflon. But at least it's almost completely inert (unless overheated), which makes it much less likely to be harmful than substitutes.
> The monomer used to make it is considered "probably carcinogenic"
Yeah, this is what I heard before. That the coating itself isn't so bad, but the manufacturing process produces stuff that is awful enough that we probably shouldn't use it.
"overheated" seems to be doing a lot of work here. It's extremely easy to heat a teflon coated pan to the point where it becomes harmful. Teflon flu isn't good for humans and is absolutely fatal to birds. Non-stick cookware releases toxic gases at typical cooking temperatures. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28913736/
> But at least it's almost completely inert (unless overheated), which makes it much less likely to be harmful than substitutes.
I don’t think that’s a strong argument. Asbestos is quite inert, and that is what makes it so harmful. A fiber will, over time, harm more and more cells.
