mouthwash causes cancer?

[uglybeech]

This one’s from my mother.
And it’s definitely news to me.
Anyone? anyone?:eek:

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Some mouthwash contains alcohol (ethanol). And…

http://www.hi.umn.edu/annual99/zk-res.html

Heavy alcohol consumption is related to approximately 3% of human cancers. While ethanol alone is not a carcinogen, it clearly promotes the actions of chemical carcinogens in various tissues.

http://www.dfg.de/english/press/releases/Archive/presse_33a_eng.html

At the same time ethanol was classified into the new Category 5 for carcinogenic substances. This category includes substances with carcinogenic and genotoxic effect (that is, interaction with the DNA in the cell), whose potency is considered to be so low that no significant contribution to human cancer risk is expected, provided that a special MAK value is observed.

Annnnd…that’s all I can find. “Mouthwash sometimes contains alcohol, and alcohol might cause cancer…”

I notice, in passing, that there are a number of alcohol-free mouthwashes touted as “non-carcinogenic” for sale on the Web. Evidently your mom isn’t the only one.

[Desmostylus]

ORAL CANCER BACKGROUND PAPERS

Mouthwash

There is some concern that mouthwashes might cause oral cancer because they have high alcohol content (as great as 26%) and are used frequently. However, Elmore and Horwitz, who combined the data from seven case control studies that evaluated mouthwash use and oral cancer, found that ORs ranged from 0.82, which suggested a protective effect, to 2.5 at the highest mouthwash exposures. They concluded that there is insufficient evidence to establish a causal relationship between the use of mouthwash and oral cancer.[sup]38[/sup]

38. Elmore JG, Horwitz RI. Oral cancer and mouthwash use: evaluation of the epidemiologic evidence. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1995;113:253-61.