Procter & Gamble recalls Old Spice, Secret antiperspirant sprays over cancer risk

Procter & Gamble voluntarily issued a recall on some Old Spice and Secret antiperspirant sprays, citing cancer risk. The presence of benzene that was described as a cancer-causing chemical was detected, and exposure to this may result in blood cancer of the bone marrow, leukemia, and other life-threatening blood diseases.

Procter & Gamble notified customers about the risk and told them to immediately dispose of their Old Spice and Secret deodorants and hygiene sprays. The company stated that 18 types of deodorants under the Secret and Old Spice brands were affected by the recall.

P&G announced the recall earlier this week, and it already asked retailers in Canada and the United States to stop selling the affected brands. It directed stores to pull out the items at once.

According to Fox Business, the recalled lots of Secret and Old Spice deodorant sprays have an expiry date of September 2023. All the products must be discarded as they may have benzene which is a known carcinogen.

“Daily exposure to benzene in the recalled products at the levels detected in our testing would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences,” Procter & Gamble said in a press release. “Benzene is ubiquitous in the environment and humans around the world have daily exposures to it indoors and outdoors from multiple sources.”

Then again, Procter & Gamble said that based on the exposure modeling and cancer risk assessments that were published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the health risk is low.

Some of the Old Spice and Secret products that were included in the recall are Old Spice High Endurance AP Spray Pure Sport, Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Inv Spray Pure Sport Plus, Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Inv Spray Ult Captain, Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Inv Spray Stronger Swagger, Old Spice Below Deck Powder Spray Fresh Air, Secret Fresh Collection Inv Spray Waterlily, Secret Fresh Collection Inv Spray Lavender, and Secret Aerosol Powder Fresh Twin Pack. The complete list of the 18 recalled products was posted in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s official announcement.

At the time of the recall announcement, P&G was not aware and has not yet received any reports of injuries or adverse events related to the Old Spice and Secret’s recall. If any customers experience any problems after using the products, they are advised to contact their doctor or healthcare provider.