A regular hair and skin shampoo has joined the growing list of products known to cause cancer.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed that Lindane, also used as an agricultural insecticide, causes cancer.
The WHO issued a statement yesterday saying a team of 26 experts from 13 countries had, after analysing all available evidence, classified Lindane as a carcinogen. A carcinogen is a substance capable of causing cancer in living cells.
Lindane, though supposed to be restricted in Kenya, is contained in some imports especially from Asia like Kwell, Scaboma Lotion, Scarab Lotion, Liceoma Lotion or Gamna Benzine. It is normally used for the treatment of human lice or the skin infection called scabies, a highly itchy infectious disease.
The product is also used for insect control in agriculture but for some years, this use has been restricted in most countries including Kenya. In the US, it is not allowed for use in pets such as dogs.
"High exposure has been recorded among agricultural workers and pesticide applicators. However, the use of Lindane is now banned or restricted in most countries," says Véronique Terrasse of WHO.
An earlier study among women at a maternity hospital in Nairobi carried out by Shem Wandiga of the University of Nairobi found significant levels of Lindane in breast milk collected from the mothers.
At the same time, the global health body has also classified the chemical DDT as a probably carcinogenic to humans and the herbicide 2,4-D as possibly carcinogenic to humans.
While DDT is indicated by the Pest Control Products Board to be banned in Kenya, the same has registered several agricultural products such as Acarin, Dicofol and Kelthane, which contain DDT.
There are also more than five weed killers in the local market based on 2,4-D, which include Proform, Dicopur, Sanaphen DSL, Tordon 101 and Bellamine.
This is the second time this year that the organisation has linked common chemicals to cancer, which is becoming a top killer disease in Kenya. In February, the health body classified Roundup, one of the most popular weed killers in Kenya, as a possible carcinogen.
Roundup is manufactured by American seed giant Monsanto from the chemical glyphosate, which was discovered in 1970. There are more than 30 brands of glyphosate chemicals in the local market.
The United Nations Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2013 suggested several alternative chemicals for the treatment of scabies and human lice. These include several derivatives from pyrethrum and other natural products such as the neem tree oil and tea tree oil.
