A series of class action cases claim that Zantac can cause cancer. It is not Zantac per se, but a degradation-produced, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which may cause cancer at high doses. What do we know about NDMA?
probable human carcinogens
Acid indigestion. Just the words give me heartburn. Multiple remedies are available, both prescription and over-the-counter. But hundreds of thousands of people are claiming that they got cancer from one of them: Zantac. Their cases are pending in various courts around the country. The decision regarding the admissibility of their expert testimony in federal cases was just released. So, how did the plaintiffs fare?
The always-brilliant Dr. Joe Schwarcz, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry (among other things) at McGill University in Montreal, has hit another one out of the park as can be discerned from his latest Dr. Joe column in the Montreal Gazette.
Dr. Schwarcz is one of the great skeptics and rebutters of junk-science scares, especially those based on the often-intentional misinterpretation of chemistry. This time he takes on the hot button issue of PCBs.