Coal Tar and Cancer

It is an often question - can Coal Tar cause cancer?

Just speculating: Possibly this has to do with the knowledge about the "tar" in cigarette smoke, and cigarettes are a big cancer risk factor?

Anyway, I have surfed around and have put together the most important information about the Coal Tar and Cancer interrelation:

1. The FDA says that CCT Coal Tar products between 0.5% and 5% have been proven to be a safe product.

2. Unlike the 49 American states, California has state guidelines regarding tar products. As of January 2002, California requires OTC Coal Tar products that contain more than 0.5% Coal Tar to be labeled with cancer warnings.

3. No scientific evidence suggests that the Coal Tar in OTC Coal Tar products is carcinogenic.

4. As of 1996, no relationship between even high therapeutic doses of OTC Coal Tar products for psoriasis and any form of cancer had been established. 25-year-long studies have found no increase in any form of cancer over what would be expected without Coal Tar.

5. Studies show that some of the chemicals in Coal Tar (i.e. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) may cause cancer, but only in very high concentrations, such as with the occupational exposure to Coal Tar (miners, industrial paving workers etc.)

6. There is a European Union-wide ban on Coal Tar as a protective coating (for boats, piers, chicken coops, etc.), but this ban doesn't affect other Coal Tar products.

7. According to the Food Additives Guide, several coal-tar-based food additives which are banned in some European countries are not banned in other European countries.

8. The FDA has a ban on Coal Tar in mascara and eyeliner. Of course, cosmetic use isn't the same as medical use.

9. In Germany, cosmetic manufacturers have voluntarily agreed to ban Coal Tar from their shampoos.

10. Coal Tar consists of almost 10,000 components (phenol, toluene, xylene, benzene, cresol, guaiacol, organic acids etc.), and only about 50% have been identified.

Conclusion:

1. Coal Tar psoriasis OTC products are very safe and do not cause cancer.
2. Occupational exposure to Coal Tar in very high concentrations may cause cancer.