Study that links mouthwashes with cancer is “selective”
The Cosmetic Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) has described a report, which suggests that mouthwashes containing alcohol can cause cancer, as “selective”.
The Cosmetic Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) has described a report, which suggests that mouthwashes containing alcohol can cause cancer, as “selective”.
The role of alcohol in oral carcinogenesis with particular reference to alcohol-containing mouthwashes, recently published in the Australian Dental Journal, has linked ethanol in some mouthwashes with the accumulation of the alcohol by-product acetaldehyde, which is believed to be carcinogenic. The study also found alcohol-containing mouthwashes to exacerbate the carcinogenic effects of smoking and drinking, causing a nine-fold increased risk of oral cancer in smokers and a five-fold increased risk in those who had drunk alcohol.
According to its authors, Michael McCullough and Camile Farah, the study found “significant evidence to accept the proposition that alcohol-containing mouthwashes contribute to the increased risk of development of oral cancer”.
However, CTPA director general Chris Flower told SPC that the authors were guilty of “selective reporting” stating that much of the report’s source material came from a 2007 study featured in the American Journal of Epidemiology, in which the authors concluded that their results should be “interpreted with caution”. Flower also drew attention to comments from the chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Nigel Carter, who said that no link between alcohol in mouthwashes and mouth cancer has been proven and the public need not worry about continuing to use mouthwashes.