Ingredient in shampoo and toothpaste can cause cancer?

Sodium Laureth Sulphate in some toothpaste and shampoo can cause cancer. does any one know anything about this? a doctor told me its true and to stop using anything with it. any feed back anyone?Ingredient in shampoo and toothpaste can cause cancer?
I think you need to find a better doctor if they told you that. :-D





It's a well known myth that circulated via an email a few years ago. The American Cancer Society has a page about Sodium Lauryl Sulfate


and this rumor:





'; Debunking the Myth


Debunking the Myth





Article date: 1998/09/23


Radical chain e-mails have been flying through cyberspace stating Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or SLS, a common ingredient in many health and beauty aids, is known to cause cancer. This is not true, according to researchers.


The following are excerpt from many of the e-mails and facts that debunk this myth.





E-mail: ';Sodium Laryl Sulfate or SLS is commonly found in most shampoos and toothpastes.';


Fact: SLS is found in many shampoos, bath products and according to a study published in May 1997 in Journal of Clinical Periodontology, SLS is used in toothpastes and mouth rinses as an emulsifying and surface cleansing agent.





E-mail: ';Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) is proven to cause cancer in the long run.';


Fact: This chemical and its other compounds are known irritants, not known carcinogens.





E-mail: ';Check the ingredients in your shampoo and see if the have the substance by the name of Sodium Laureth Sulfate or simply SLS.';


Fact: The correct abbreviation for Sodium Laureth Sulfate is ';SLES.'; Another compound, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, is abbreviated ';SLS.'; The two substances have the same general formula but differ in chemical properties.





E-mail: ';The fact is SLS is used to scrub garage floors.';


Fact: SLS is a powerful surfactant (wetting agent) and detergent. It has industrial uses because it is a detergent which exerts emulsifying action, thereby removing oil and soil.





E-mail: ';I called the company and told them their product contains a substance that will cause people to have cancer, and they say they know it but there is nothing they can do about it. They need that product to produce foam.';


Fact: No manufacturer would freely admit it knowingly uses a carcinogen in its products ';because we need that substance to produce foam';.





E-mail: ';Research has shown that in the 1980's, the chance of getting cancer is one out of 8000 and now in the 1990's, the chances of getting cancer is one in three.';


Fact: According to the ACS's Cancer Facts and Figures, 1998, the occurrence of cancer increases as individuals age, and most cases affect adults middle-aged and older. Lifetime risk refers to the probability that an individual, over the course of their lifetime, will develop cancer or die from it. Currently in the US, men have a one in two lifetime risk of developing cancer, and for women the risk is one in three. During the early 1980's, the lifetime cancer risk for both men and women was one in three. This means men are slightly more at risk for cancer now, than they were then.





E-mail: ';I hope we can stop giving ourselves the cancer virus.';


Fact: Cancer is not a virus. There are some viruses that increase a person's risk of getting cancer, but cancer itself is not viral and not contagious. Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells.





There is no way of knowing where this Internet information comes from. However, there are a variety of websites offering health and beauty products that are SLS-free. According to David Emery and his Urban Legends website, ';Interestingly, all these Websites are maintained by 'independent distributors' for various multi-level marketing companies hawking natural personal care products. As a matter of fact, the majority of URLs returned in a standard Web search on the keywords 'sodium laureth sulfate' all point to versions of the same propaganda.';





It is best to be cautious when obtaining information, especially health-related information, from the Web. Check to see who owns the site, make sure reliable sources are used and if ever in doubt, check it out.';





http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/conten鈥?/a>Ingredient in shampoo and toothpaste can cause cancer?
Not only that but the anti-perspirant deodorant is one of the major cause of Breat Cancer
Better to die at 70 from cancer than to die at 40 from loneliness due to the fact that everybody finds your breath and general stench repulsive.
Every manmade chemical is liable to cause cancer with enough exposure.
Saliva causes stomach cancer but only when taken in small doses over a long period of time.
Urban legend. Probably confusing it with sodium lauryl sulfate.





http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/we鈥?/a>
The poor doctor has fallen victim to rumors and folklore, or being staying up too late! Almost a decade ago, there was a circulating rumor stating that sod. laureth (or lauryl) sulfate causes cancer. There is absolutely NO scientific evidence that it does. Health Canada and the American Cancer Society, among others, have stated so. Anyway, the amount of SLS in toothpaste is pretty small.
you are going to have a hard time finding products that get foamy without sodium laureth sulphate in them...it is what makes them foamy.