Arizona has become the first U.S. state to formally accuse cosmetics giant L'Oreal of violating consumer protection laws. The state's attorney general alleges the company concealed evidence linking its popular hair straightening products to cancer, according to infohub.kz.
According to Reuters, the lawsuit accuses L'Oreal of violating state consumer protection laws by selling products without warning about potential risks of ovarian and uterine cancer.
State authorities are seeking fines and damages, as well as a court order requiring the company to stop selling the products.
L'Oreal currently faces more than 12,000 similar lawsuits filed by women, consolidated in federal court in Chicago as part of multidistrict litigation.
The first lawsuits came after a 2022 study by the National Institutes of Health. It found that women who used products sold under brand names Dark and Lovely, Optimum and others (which promise to permanently straighten hair) were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer.
However, a representative of L'Oreal USA said the company is confident in the safety of its products and believes the claims have no legal or scientific basis.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that the world is facing a surge in cancer cases. According to a global report by the World Health Organization, by 2050 cancer incidence on the planet will grow to 35 million people per year.