Aspartame labelled a ‘potential cancer risk’ – so how many cans of Diet Coke are safe to drink?
Aspartame, a sweetener commonly found in diet drinks and chewing gum, has been declared a potential cancer risk by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The sweetener has been listed as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the WHO’s cancer research arm, said there was “limited evidence” aspartame caused cancer in humans.
“While safety is not a major concern at the doses which are commonly used, potential effects have been described that need to be investigated,” the WHO’s Dr Francesco Branca said.
And giving advice to the public, he added: “If consumers are faced with the decision of whether to take cola with sweeteners or one with sugar, I think there should be a third option considered – which is to drink water instead.”
Analysis: How concerned should you be?
If there’s limited evidence, why has the WHO made this declaration?
The scale used by the IARC indicates the level of evidence there is for a substance being carcinogenic.
The IARC uses four categories: 1 – causes cancer; 2A – probably causes cancer; 2B – possibly causes cancer and 3 – no evidence available on cancer risk.
Aspartame was classified as 2B, “possibly carcinogenic”, on the basis of limited evidence for cancer in humans (specifically hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer).
Other possible 2B carcinogens in the group include aloe vera, bracken ferns, lead and working as a hairdresser.
The scale does not say how much exposure you need to raise your cancer risk – it just identifies the substances as hazards.
Alice Davies, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, told Sky News: “Something being classed as a carcinogen doesn’t tell you how much it could increase the risk of cancer.
“Sometimes there are things that might cause cancer in theory, but in reality the dose that you’re exposed to is too low to increase your risk.
“So, for example, processed meat and smoking are both carcinogens but smoking causes about 54,000 cases of cancer in the UK each year whereas processed meat only causes about 5,400.”
So how much aspartame can I have a day?
This is where another arm of the WHO comes in, the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Expert Committee on Food Additives – JECFA for short.
JECFA reviewed the data on aspartame consumption and said adults can safely consume up to 40mg per kilo of body weight.
This does not change the daily limits recommended previously.
That means an adult who weighs 70kg could consume 2,800mg of aspartame a day.
Aspartame is found in drinks including Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Sprite Zero and Fanta Zero.
A can of diet drink typically contains about 200mg of aspartame. So a 70kg adult could drink 14 cans without going over the safe daily limit for aspartame.
File pic
What does a carcinogen do to your body?
Cancer is a disease of the cells, and a carcinogen is something that disrupts the way cells work.
A carcinogen might damage the cells themselves or it might damage your DNA, Ms Davies from Cancer Research UK said.
For example, a gene that normally prevents cells from replicating too much could be damaged, leading to cells multiplying uncontrollably.
Do I need to worry about aspartame causing cancer?
Rather than worry about things that might cause cancer, Ms Davies said it is better to address confirmed causes of cancer, such as smoking, alcohol and obesity.
“The most important thing really you can do to reduce your risk of cancer is to not smoke, to keep a healthy weight, have a healthy balanced diet, cut down alcohol and stay physically active.”
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) agrees. It says the JECFA report into aspartame is not something people should worry about, as long as they follow the advice that’s already out there.
Professor Robin May, the FSA’s chief scientific adviser, said: “JECFA’s report supports the FSA’s view that aspartame is safe to consume at current permitted use levels.”
The IARC and WHO will continue to monitor new evidence and encourage independent research groups to develop further studies on the potential association between aspartame and cancer.
The FSA said it welcomed this extra research, calling for “more and better studies” into the potential risks of aspartame consumption.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
Read more:
Pope Francis honoured by Joe Biden
Donald Trump’s inauguration 2.0
Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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