Lead in Lipstick Causes Cancer
Netlore Archive: Email hoax claims that consumers can test for 'cancer-causing' lead in lipsticks by scratching the products with a 24K gold ring
Description: Email hoax
Circulating since: May 2003
Status: Mostly false
Variant #1:
Email example contributed by Neha D., 13 May 2003:
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Subject: Fw:All About Lipsticks *This is a Lipstick Test of the " Lead ", Lead is a Chemical, and it will cause Cancer. Recently a Brand Name called, "Red Earth". They decrease their price of Lipstick from HK$67 to HK$9.9, because they have lead.
Please send this information to you friends or your girl friends. *After this test, we found Y.S.L. lipstick are the most beautiful lipstick when u wear it, but because of contain lots of lead, so it is not easy to "REMOVE". I believe everyone love to wear lipstick, now here is a test that you can do it yourself:
1. Put some lipstick on your hand, Be Smart everyone! When u buy a product, quality is very important. |
Variant #2:
Email example contributed by Richard L., 5 November 2004:
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Subject: Dangers of Lead in Lipstick Even lipstick isn't safe anymore...what's next? Brands don't mean everything. Recently a brand called "Red Earth" decreased their prices from $67 to $9.90. It contained lead. Lead is a chemical which cause cancer. The Brands which contain lead are:
I. CHRISTIAN DIOR The higher the lead content, the greater the chance of causing cancer. After doing a test on lipstick! s, it was found that the Yves St. Laurent (YSL) lipstick contained the most amount of lead. Watch out for those lipsticks which are supposed to stay longer. If your lipstick stays longer, it is because of the higher content of lead. Here is the test you can do yourself:
1. Put some lipstick on your hand. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Dioxin Carcinogens causes cancer. Especially breast cancer. |
2007 Update: New test results published by a consumer advocacy group, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, have confirmed the outcome of previous tests which found that some name-brand lipsticks sold in the United States do contain trace amounts of lead.
One-third of the 33 products tested contained an amount of lead in excess of 0.1 parts per million, the group said, which is the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's upper limit for allowable lead in candy. The FDA has not set an overall limit for lead in cosmetics, though it does regulate how much lead is permitted in coloring agents used in their manufacture.
The consumer group is calling for reformulation of the lead-containing products and stricter oversight by the Food & Drug Administration. FDA spokesperson Stephanie Kwisnek responded in a statement to the Associated Press that the agency will examine the new test results and determine what action, "if any," may be needed to protect public health.
• Full CSC report, including test results by product
• Associated Press: FDA to Look at Claims of Leaded Lipstick
2006 Update: A new version of this message circulating since September 2006 contains the additional claim that the material was authored by a Dr. Nahid Neman of the breast cancer unit of Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto. No such person exists.
General comments: In circulation since 2003, tis fear-mongering email is long on misinformation and short on verified facts. It is true that laboratory tests have shown that some name-brand lipsticks sold in the United States contain trace amounts of lead from the dyes used in their manufacture, but according to a statement from the American Cancer Society the lead content of these coloring agents is strictly controlled by the Food & Drug Administration, meets currently accepted safety standards, and poses no serious health threat to consumers.
Moreover, the message is both inaccurate and misleading when it implies that cancer is the main health hazard posed by lead exposure. Though it is indeed listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a probable human carcinogen, lead has other, more direct health effects -- including brain damage, nerve disorders and reproductive problems -- that are far more worrisome.
Gold ring test will not detect lead in lipstick
The handy home test for lead in lipstick touted in the email is bogus. Certain metals, including gold, may leave a dark streak when scratched on various surfaces, but this is an artifact of the metals themselves, not an indicator of a chemical reaction with lead or any other substance.
For accurate information on known and suspected health hazards associated with cosmetic products and ingredients, see the Cosmetics section of the FDA Website.
March 2006 statement from Cancer Research U.K.:
The email appears to be one of the many hoax emails claiming that a variety of everyday products can cause cancer. We've had deodorant, shampoo, washing up liquid and now lipstick. None of these claims are true and just spread alarm unnecessarily.
December 2005 statement from the American Cancer Society:
Rumor:
In May 2003, an email began making the rounds claiming that many of the most popular lipsticks on the market contain lead and will cause cancer. The email then offers a way to test lipsticks to see if they have lead.Fact:
A search of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Web site finds that lead content of coloring agents used in lipstick is regulated by that agency, and that the levels permitted are not a health problem.
Sources and further reading:
Lipstick and Lead
American Cancer Society Press RoomLead in Lipstick: A Health Concern?
MayoClinic.com, 14 June 2007Lipstick Lead Hoax Smacks Inboxes Worldwide
Vnunet.com, 10 March 2006Does Lipstick Contain Lead?
Internet Broadcasting, 25 July 2006Dangers of Lead Still Linger
FDA Consumer magazine, Jan-Feb 1998Lead Compounds - Hazard Summary
U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCosmetic Products and Ingredients
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Last updated: 10/12/07
