Talcum powder dangerous for women?

This bit of news is alarming and certainly a cause for concern. For, it has been recently found that women who use talcum powder every day to keep fresh are 40 per cent more likely to develop ovarian cancer and not only that the latest findings from the U.S. suggest that the risks are much greater than previously thought. Scientists fear powder particles applied to the private parts may travel to the ovaries and trigger a process of inflammation that allows cancer cells to flourish. Experts from Harvard Medical School in Boston conducted a study on more than 3,000 women and have discovered that using talc just once a week raised the risk of cancer by 36 per cent, rising to 41 per cent for those applying powder every day. It was also found that the risks were greater still for those with a certain genetic profile. The findings, however, apply only to talcum powder used around the private parts, not on the rest of the body.

By the way, Talc is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate. In loose form, it is the widely used substance known as talcum powder. Talc finds use as a cosmetic (talcum powder) and is used in baby powder and also as an astringent powder used for preventing diaper rashes. Though several studies have established preliminary links between talc and lung cancer, skin cancer and recently ovarian cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers non-asbestiform talc, that is talc which does not contain potentially carcinogenic asbestiform amphibole fibers, to be Generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use in cosmetics.