oh please do some research!

"they cost significantly more, take longer to turn on, can flicker, and contain small amounts of highly toxic mercury, which creates problems for users when they break or need to be disposed of after they burn out."

older ones took time to warm up. the latest generation power up a lot faster now. almost as fast as incandescents. flickering, again look to the early generation bulbs. the mercury? overstated. the there is more mercury in a thermometer. far more.

apart from being a user of the bulbs, I've worked making the ballast circuits that power the new CFL's and I know most of the "claims" are unfounded and based on hearsay / old information.