Numerous hand sanitizers across Europe may soon face removal from store shelves due to potential cancer risks associated with ethanol, a key ingredient.

Alcohol-based sanitizers, deemed safe by the European Union and listed as essential medicines by the World Health Organization since the 1990s, are now under scrutiny.

Earlier this month, European Union health officials suggested either eliminating or replacing products containing ethanol, citing concerns over cancer risks and possible pregnancy complications.

Should this proposal be approved, it could lead to the discontinuation of hand sanitizers, detergents, and other widely-used cleaning products in European hospitals.

It’s important to note that this proposed ban would not affect the United Kingdom, as it is no longer part of the EU.

Experts have expressed concern, warning that such measures could significantly impact hospitals throughout the continent. They also noted that alternative substances to ethanol might pose even greater dangers.

Alexandra Peters of the University of Geneva and the Clean Hospitals network, told the Financial Times: ‘The impact on hospitals would be huge. 

‘Healthcare-associated infections kill more people globally every year than malaria, tuberculosis and Aids combined.

Alcohol-based cleansers are authorised as safe in the bloc and have been on the World Health Organization ‘s essential medicines list since the 1990s

‘Hand hygiene, especially with alcohol-based hand rub, saves 16million infections worldwide per year.

Alternatives to ethanol, such as isopropanol, are even more toxic, she noted, while using soap repeatedly takes longer and damages skin. 

‘Wherever you see production of hand rub in emergency situations like we saw with Covid, every single time it’s going to be ethanol. You can’t just change a brewery into a factory for producing isopropanol,’ she added.  

The European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) committee will now meet at the end of November to decide whether to classify ethanol as harmful.

The ECHA said that if its expert committee ‘concludes that ethanol is carcinogenic’, it would recommend its substitution. 

But ethanol might ‘still be approved for the intended biocidal uses, if these are considered safe in the light of expected exposure levels or no alternatives are found’, they added. 

While no conclusion had yet been made, their final recommendation would be sent to the European Commission who then make the decision. 

Industry groups, however, have already hit back at the potential ban arguing there is little evidence to prove ethanol’s harms.

If accepted, the ban  could see hand sanitisers, detergents and other popular cleaning products and frequently used by hospitals discontinued in EU states. The proposed ban, however, would not impact the UK in light of Brexit

Nicole Vaini, EU affairs director of the International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products, an industry group, said there were no studies focused on ethanol specifically.

The only human data available looks at the health effects of drinking alcoholic drinks. 

In May, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control even called on health authorities to ‘establish alcohol-based hand disinfection as the primary method for hand hygiene’.

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) ethanol may dry out and irritate the skin or cause redness and swelling. 

Eye exposure to ethanol can also cause tearing, burning and stinging.

But adverse health effects depend on several factors, including the amount to which someone is exposed to ethanol, the duration of exposure and if they were exposed to any other chemicals. 

Inhaling ethanol directly can irritate the nose and throat, causing chocking and coughing. At high levels it can cause inebriation.

Alcohol-based hand gels in the form of liquids, foams and gels can contain up to 95 per cent ethanol.