ok free soul i will copy the page and put the link below it to make sure
Rumor: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Causes Cancer
American Cancer Society Response
[From:
www.cancer.org]Debunking the Myth
ACS NewsToday -- 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: SLES 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
and here is the link
http://www.personalcarecouncil.org/Template.cfm?Section=News_Room&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=439."