Aspartame is about to be proclaimed by the WHO as a possible carcinogen. What makes this any different from beer and wine, which are known to be carcinogenic already?

Question

Obviously, alcoholic drinks present other dangers (driving drunk, alcoholism), but my question is specifically related to the cancer-causing nature of aspartame-sweetend soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, comparatively.

In: 1668

Answer 1

There are different categories for carcinogens. Alcohol is in Class 1, which means there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans. Aspartame is a apparently going to be a Class 2B, which means there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and less than sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. 2B has things like EMF from cell phones, ginkgo biloba, and carpentry. 2B “possibly carcinogenic” is different from 2A which is “probably carcinogenic”. None of these account for the dose that would be required to get cancer from a substance.