Letter: A consumer warning about checking ingredients of certain products

Tuesday, July 28, 1998 | 10:37 a.m.

And if anyone thinks the FDA is your mouthpiece to health and good information, you better think again. The fact is that more than 800 chemicals contained in the cosmetics and personal care products remain untested because there are insufficient people, power and monies.

By knowing this information, I must speak out to inform others. To spark your interest I will tell you about one ingredient commonly found in toothpaste or other personal care items: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS).

It is a harsh industrial cleaning chemical, and it is found in cosmetics and personal care products. SLS could keep children's eyes from developing properly; it can cause cataracts in adults and delay healing of wounds on the cornea; it can build up and cause major problems in the heart, liver, lungs and brain; and it is routinely used in clinical studies to deliberately irritate the skin so the effects of other substances can be tested.

I used to throw away the packaging materials for toothpaste, and just did not bother reading about the ingredients. All I want to achieve with this letter is to ensure that you are aware of the potential harmful ingredients in these products, so that you can change your purchasing habits from buying bad products to good products.

Maria Iverson