Saccharin is often used as an artificial sweetening agent found in dietetic food products and drinks. Some toiletries also contain saccharin. Workplaces, particularly industries and facilities involved either in the manufacture of saccharin and its salts or dealing with its usage, are potential areas of saccharin exposure. Unites States has produced saccharin and its sodium and potassium salts commercially for more than 80 years. Despite removal of saccharin from the list of cancer-causing chemicals by the National Toxicology Program Board of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, concerns abound the safety of saccharin.
Cancer
In a report dated October 24, 1997 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) to the National Toxicology Program Board, CSPI recommended inclusion of saccharin in the "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" list. Carcinogens are cancer-causing substances. CSPI supported its recommendation with a number of studies that demonstrated saccharin causing cancer in rats and mice. In mice, saccharin led to urinary bladder and other cancers including vascular and lung cancer; saccharin resulted in an increased incidence of uterine cancer in female mice.
Many case-control studies associated human intake of artificial sweeteners with of cancers in the bladder. Case-control studies are studies that compare people with a specific disease with a set of people that do not have the disease. The CSPI report says it is "highly imprudent" to remove saccharin from the list; it would place more than a million people including children and fetuses consuming saccharin, at risk. The report continues to explain that removal from the list also discourages further studies on potential risks of saccharin. However, saccharin was removed from the list as a carcinogenic hazard on the grounds of insufficient data to support that it can cause cancer in humans.
Increase in Insulin
According to the November 2008 issue of Appetite research journal, saccharin can increase insulin concentration in blood. Increase in insulin can lead to weight gain, according to the Mayo Clinic website. This is because the higher the insulin, the higher the glucose that goes into body cells. The glucose that remains after cell activity gets stored as fat, which increases the likelihood of weight gain.
Allergies
According to MedicineNet, saccharin could trigger allergic reactions in people consuming the sweetener. Headache, difficulty breathing, diarrhea and skin eruption are some possible allergic reactions. This is because saccharin belongs to the class of sulfonamides compounds, which can trigger allergic reactions in people intolerant of sulfa drugs.
Other Health Risks
Saccharin in infant formulas can cause irritability and render muscle dysfunction. Consumption of saccharin by pregnant women, babies and children is discouraged due to these potential health risks, according to MedicineNet.
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