High levels of chemicals in condoms, lubricants linked to liver damage, reduced fertility, cancer cases

A new study has revealed that high levels of Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) also known as ‘forever chemicals’ are present in some condoms and lubricant brands, and linked to a wide variety of health complications, including increased risk of cancer, immune system suppression, liver damage, increased cholesterol levels, and reduced fertility.

The study was published by Mamavation Blog in partnership with Environmental Health News after they sent condoms and lubricants from several different brands to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-certified laboratory to determine their PFAS levels by looking for fluorine, which is a marker of PFAS.

After analysing 29 popular condoms and lubricants, the result showed that 14 per cent of the total condom and lubricants tested had indications of PFAS like fluorine was present in Trojan Ultra-Thin Condoms for Ultra Sensitivity and in even higher levels in Union Standard Ultra-Thin Lubricated Male Latex Condoms

Despite their documented harmful effects, PFAS have been detected in many household and daily products and are essentially inescapable today. They have long been used in consumer products to make them resistant to stains, water, oil, and grease.

Professor of Green Chemistry and Director, Institute for Green Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Teresa Heinz in the report noted that forever chemicals are problematic for human health and the environment and are considered ubiquitous, persistent, and toxic. “The health effects from exposure to PFAS inside the vagina and penis areas are unknown. However, we do know that these are some of the most vulnerable areas of the human body to the effects of toxic chemicals like PFAS in the environment,” she added.

A former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and National Toxicology Programme, Linda Birnbaum, recommended that the industry should identify and remove these chemicals immediately because condoms expose both men and women to the most sensitive areas of the human body. “The vagina and penis are incredibly vascular areas and dermal exposures to these areas are often higher than other places of the body,” she said.

Also, experts have raised alert on the dangers of cooking with non-stick pots coated with Teflon as a recent increase in the number of illnesses related to the use of non-stick cookware has reignited the debate on its safety.

The illness known as ‘Teflon-Flu’ occurs when fumes from over-heated non-stick pans or Teflon pans are inhaled causing a range of symptoms including fever, chills, muscle tension and headache.

Research has shown that nonstick cook-wares are made with polytetrafluoroethylenes (PTFE) which are also known as ‘forever chemicals’ and take decades or more to break and according to experts, when heated above 500 degrees Fahrenheit (F), pose a health due to increase emissions resulting to polymer fume fever.

Experts advised that although Teflon and nonstick cookware are easy to use and clean, they should only be used for low to medium-heat cooking and that users should try to keep the surface temperature at 450 degrees F or emissions from the PTFE coating are likely to increase.