Most studies in people have not found a link between saccharin and cancer, but a few did suggest a connection to an increased risk of bladder cancer. But researchers say that even those studies indicate that if saccharin is carcinogenic, it is only weakly so. In rats, high doses of saccharin do cause bladder cancer, but Dr. Samuel Cohen, a pathologist at the University of Nebraska, says he has found that the saccharin is interacting with a component in rat urine that is not found in human urine. Therefore, Dr. Cohen says, the rat studies have no bearing on people. Other scientists have questioned that assertion, and countered that tumors might still form in people by some other mechanism.
Saccharin accounts for about one-third of the artificial sweetener sold in the United States.
Sweet 'N Low, saccharin is also added to diet pastries, candies, chewing gum, toothpaste, mouthwash, salad dressing and other products. This product contains saccharin, which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals. But taking saccharin off the list might open the door to getting rid of them. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer health group based in Washington, strongly criticized the move to remove saccharin from the list. Dr. Michael Jacobson, director of the center, said the government had been unduly influenced by the diet-food industry.