Should antibacterial soaps be banned?
April 26, 2010 by Fred HosierPosted in: Chemical safety, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, What do you think?, Worker health
PDF Do antibacterial soaps do more harm than good? A government agency is looking into that.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will review the antibacterial chemical, triclosan.
It’s found in liquid hand soap, deodorant bar soaps, face washes, deodorants, toothpastes and mouthwashes.
U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) has called for a ban on the chemical in personal care products. Markey cites concerns that use of triclosan may encourage the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Studies have shown that microbes resistant to triclosan also seem to have picked up resistance to other antibiotic drugs at the same time.
The FDA says triclosan isn’t known to be hazardous to people. But the agency is going to evaluate new evidence and come to some conclusion next year.
Triclosan stops or slows the growth of bacteria. It does help fight germs on your hands. But the common cold and stomach bugs are viruses, and triclosan doesn’t help fight those.
Some studies have found that, at the level contained in consumer products, washing with antibacterial soaps doesn’t kill more bacteria than washing with regular soaps.
However, at higher concentrations used in hospitals, it does improve germ removal.
Even without further FDA research, an article in the LA Times says many doctors, public health officials and environmentalists think triclosan isn’t worth the risk.
What do you think about antibacterial soaps? Let us know in the Comments Box below.
SafetyNewsAlert.com delivers the latest Safety news once a week to the inboxes of over 270,000 Safety professionals.
Click here to sign up and start your FREE subscription to SafetyNewsAlert!
Tags: antibacterial soap, FDA, triclosan
Loading ...
April 27th, 2010 at 11:36 am
Triclosan should be banned. It is an industrial pesticide toxic to people and to wildlife. Read more here: http://www.ewg.org/triclosanguide
April 27th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
This actually makes perfect sense. Whatever we can do to stop the growth and spread of super bugs will benefit mankind. In my house we try our best not to buy anti-bacterial soaps for this very reason. Once the bugs become resistent, we become weaker in the fight against those bugs.
April 28th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I agree if Triclosan is that much effective than regular soap, why take the risk.
May 3rd, 2010 at 10:51 am
Haven’t people been saying this all along? I mean, it just makes sense that killing 99.9% of bacteria is actually more harmful. There are plenty of good bacteria on us that we NEED in order to fight off the bad bacteria and if an anti-bacterial kills even those, then of course we are in trouble!
Thank you for this article though, now I actually know the name of the harmful chemical!!
Jenn
Matheson Philosophy on Workplace Safety and Work Injury Evaluation
http://blog.roymatheson.com
May 4th, 2010 at 8:29 am
I just checked the three or four different antibacterial liquids we have here in the office and none of them contain Triclosan.
Is this as widespread as the article makes it sound or is it used on a smaller scale by specific manufacturers?
May 4th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Terry, it is very widespread. You will be amazed, once you start looking for it, how many products we use everyday contain Triclosan - I found it in my favorite toothpaste! It’s in dish liquid, hand soap, laundry detergent, etc. Read the article I linked to in my first comment. I look for it when I’m shopping and I’ve stopped buying products containing Triclosan.
July 30th, 2010 at 3:47 am
[...] 9.Should antibacterial soaps be banned? | SafetyNewsAlert.com | Do antibacterial soaps do more harm than good? … Studies have shown that microbes resistant to triclosan also seem to have picked up resistance to other antibiotic drugs at the same time. … There are plenty of good bacteria on us that we NEED in order to fight off the bad bacteria and if an anti-bacterial kills even those, http://www.safetynewsalert.com/should-antibacterial-soaps-be-banned/ [...]