A HEALTHCARE giant has rejected claims that a vital ingredient of head lice treatment could cause cancer.

Seton Health Care Group - the owner of Blackburn-based Cupal Ltd - owns the rights to three of the lotions and shampoos at the centre of the cancer scare.

The products - Carylderm, Derbac C and Suleo C - which all contain the pesticide carbaryl, will only be available on prescription from January 1.

It follows claims by the Government's Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth Calman that carbaryl had been linked to cancer in laboratory animals.

But experts at Seton, one of the leading suppliers of head lice treatment in the UK, said they were satisfied there were no cancer risks in humans.

Dr Francis Roe, leading consultant toxicologist, said: "After considering in detail a wealth of laboratory data, I am fully satisfied that the use of carbaryl against headlouse infestation poses no cancer risk for humans."

Nurses and pharmacists have been advised that patients should consult their GP before using any head lice lotions or shampoos containing carbaryl.

The cancer scare follows a probe by the Committee on Carcinogenicity which reviewed new experimental data in laboratory animals.

It said it would be "prudent" to consider carbaryl as a potential human carcinogen.

Seton, based in Oldham, took over Cupal in 1992 in an £8.2 million deal. Its turnover for head lice treatment is about £1 million a year.

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