Sales of illegal tooth-whitening products banned by major e-retailers

Mon, 23 Aug 2010

Illegal and potentially harmful tooth whitening products have been pulled from sale by some of the biggest online retailers, according to reports.

Amazon, eBay and Google have all agreed to ban the dental products from being advertised on their websites following in an investigation by the consumer watchdog, Which?.

Which? surveyed over 1,800 Britons earlier this year on their experiences of tooth whitening products purchased online. Of those polled, over a quarter (28 per cent) said they were not satisfied, with three out of five experiencing side effects lasting for more than a few days.

The European Union regulation bans the sale of tooth whitening products containing more than 0.1 per cent hydrogen peroxide or chemicals which release hydrogen peroxide, which is powerful bleach that is also used in hair dye .

But the watchdog found that sellers on eBay and Google were advertising products with up to 44 per cent carbamide peroxide, which contains nearly 150 times the hydrogen peroxide legal limit.

Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: "These products are illegal, but ineffective policing means they are still widely available."

"We have shared our findings with Trading Standards and will continue to urge online retailers to boycott such harmful products being sold in their market places."
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