Press Conference, January 17, 1995, CPC, 520 N. Michigan,
Chicago, IL 60611 Chicago — According to scientific experts,
commonly prescribed lice shampoos can cause fatal childhood
cancer. The Cancer Prevention Coalition (CPC) will inform the
public of this danger at a press briefing on January 17, 1995 at
12 noon. About six million Americans, mainly children, are
infested with lice each year. A common treatment for lice is a
shampoo containing the pesticide lindane. Recent epidemiological
studies have reported high rates of brain cancer in children
treated with lindane shampoos. These findings are significant in
light of the dramatic 38% increase of childhood brain and
nervous system cancer rates from 1973 to Additional evidence
comes from recent studies linking lindane exposure to increased
risks of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and also from long-standing
evidence on fatal blood diseases including aplastic anemia and
leukemia. These findings are supported by experimental evidence
of carcinogenicity confirmed by th