Using Mouthwash Could Increase Risk of Cancer by Nine Times, claim Scientists
Studies have linked the high alcohol content of some mouthwashes to oral
cancer. Now Oral Cancer Prevention International (OCPI), a New York company,
has filed a law suit in New Jersey claiming that Johnson & Johnson, one of
the world’s biggest companies, interfered with a distribution contract it
had for the test as it did not want to lend credence to the link between
mouthwash and the disease.
According to the lawsuit, in February 2010 OCPI signed a contract with a
company called OraPharma – which was then a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson
– to distribute its cancer test, called the Oral CDx Brush Test. The test is
designed to identify pre-cancerous cells in people’s mouths.
However OCPI alleges that Johnson & Johnson grew “extremely concerned about
the implications” of an Australian study that linked mouthwashes to cancer.
OCPI said that the multi-national did not want to “lend credence to the link
between Listerine and oral cancer” by selling both products. The company
went on to allege that Johnson & Johnson “induced OraPharma to breach the
sales agreement” to suppress sales of the test “in order to protect sales of
its mouthwash, Listerine”.
Johnson & Johnson has said: “The company is confident that we have
engaged in proper business practices and we look forward to the opportunity
to resolve this matter through the legal system.”
