Arizona sues L’Oréal over alleged cancer risks from hair relaxers
The US state of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against L’Oréal and its US subsidiary, alleging that they concealed evidence that hair relaxers may be linked to cancer in women. The lawsuit was filed by state Attorney General Kris Mayes. Arizona became the first state to go to court over alleged risks associated with such products, Dawn reports.
The state's demands
The lawsuit alleges that L’Oréal violated Arizona consumer protection laws by promoting products without warnings about possible risks of ovarian and uterine cancer. According to the lawsuit, these products are used primarily by African American women.
The state is seeking fines and damages, as well as a court order that would require the company to stop selling products without warnings about a possible cancer risk. Arizona authorities also allege that L’Oréal and its affiliated companies used social pressure and discriminatory beauty standards targeting people of African descent for decades, placing profit above consumer safety.
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Other lawsuits and the company's position
L’Oréal is also involved in more than 12,000 similar lawsuits filed by women or their families. These cases have been consolidated in federal court in Chicago as part of multidistrict litigation. The lawsuits concern, among other things, products sold under the Dark and Lovely and Optimum brands and intended for permanently straightening textured hair.
The first lawsuits emerged after a 2022 study by the US National Institutes of Health was published. It found that women who used such products several times a year had more than twice the likelihood of developing uterine cancer. A representative of L’Oréal USA said the company is confident in the safety of its products and considers the claims unfounded from both legal and scientific perspectives. According to the representative, the study did not establish a causal link between the use of these products and the illnesses alleged by the plaintiffs.
