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Recently the World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) alerted people by highlighting a concern that talc used talcum powder is carcinogenic in nature, meaning it has cancer-causing properties. What does the WHO warning mean? New Delhi: Talcum powder has been used in almost every household for over 125 years now, it is commonly used on infants to prevent diaper rashes. On the other hand, millions of women have been using it for their daily feminine hygiene routine.

But have you ever thought, that the talcum powder you are using every day can cause cancer? Recently, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency has classified ‘talc’ which is commonly found in talcum powders as a ‘possible carcinogenic’ to humans. Since then the report has sparked widespread concern among people across the world. The report was released after a working group of 29 scientists from 13 countries convened at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France previous month and the data is based on this classification of ‘limited evidence’ of talc could cause ovarian cancer in humans.



There has been sufficient proof it was linked to cancer in rats and ‘strong mechanistic evidence’ shows that it contains carcinogenic signs in human cells. The findings of the study were published in a new article in the journal The Lancet Oncology on July 5. Talcum powder is made from talc, a mineral that is made up mainly of magnesium, silicon a.

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