Can guitars really give you cancer?

DiscoStu

I was having a look at the Fender Tenor Tele in another thread and noticed something in the specs that I'd never heard of before.

https://i.imgur.com/emb4l2U.jpg

Clicking the Proposition 65 link brings this up:
"These warnings inform Californians about their exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm."

Just what is it that warrants this warning and are we really at risk? If we weren't then surely there would be no need for the warning.

ICBM

Guitar strings have been proven to be harmful if you eat more than three packets a week.

oldfoxy

Typical US anti litigation statement. Probably the unlikely presence of residuals in the finish

DiscoStu

Ha! I was wondering if it had something to do with licking the magnets!

Kittyfrisk

Almost certainly the presence of Nickel.
The advisory may be a bit of a legal risk averse OTT catch all, but nickel allergy is a very real issue for many people (including my Dad.

Many years ago I worked in an industrial nickel plating plant. The process involved degreasing metal parts in hot baths of caustic soda and trichloethylene (Trike). The atmosphere was hot & acrid & it could easily have stood in for one of the outer circles of hell.
I got myself transferred out after a couple of months due to contracting industrial asthma & I'm glad I did as Trike later turned out to be a massive carcinogen...
Still, as this was all in the days before health & safety spoiled everything, I was probably just being a snowflake 

Funkfingers

As already explained above, Nickel and leaded solder are hazardous to health. 

Like asbestos, you really need almost daily low level exposure to cause nasty medical conditions. Infrequent large scale exposure is less problematic unless, like Kittyfridk’s father, you happen to be sensitive or allergic.

The warning tags on music gear are just the manufacturers’ covering their arses against possible future claims for compensation.

HAL9000

Quite honestly, I wouldn’t fret about it...

Kittyfrisk

Probably why @ICBM is so irritated by Nickleback 

impmann

Look up Prop 65 - California law... real pita

phil_b

it reminds me of the "MAY CONTAIN NUTS" warning

manufactures plastered this on every food product just to cover themselves.

people with genuine nut allergies could not gauge if a product had nuts in it or not because everything was labelled with this. It left them with a choice of only buying raw products or taking a risk on a product by taking an uniformed guess if it had nuts in it or not 

the problem is these labels are not designed to warn or inform the public and help people choose a product that will suit them. They are purely designed to avoid litigation.

skunkwerx

Mad world. 

Buy a guitar which 'may' contain trace amounts of potential substances linked to cancer... 

In a state thats seen 3 mass shootings in 4 days... 


They've got their priorities spot fucking on. 

Arsehole chemicals. 

Kittyfrisk

skunkwerx said:

Mad world. 

Buy a guitar which 'may' contain trace amounts of potential substances linked to cancer... 

In a state thats seen 3 mass shootings in 4 days... 


They've got their priorities spot fucking on. 

Arsehole chemicals. 

You're not wrong, but as I said earlier, these days it's all about risk aversion & corporate arse covering.
Mind you, in the US I'd do exactly the same rather than risk getting entangled in their legal system.

Hmmm, if you think about guitar construction generally though...
Hardwood dust inhalation -cancerous
Polyester/Polyurethane/Nitrocellulose -cancerous
Nickel/chrome plating process - cancerous
And the strings of course.
Be safe out there 

rossi

Only if you smoke a lot of them .

GluedtoMusic

Hipshot have a good explanation of the warning and actual risk on their website,

https://hipshotproducts.com/pages/prop-65 

Here's the important bit,

In the instance of nickel, the CDC says the risk of cancer was determined by a case study where lung and sinus cancer was found in a population of refinery workers who inhaled large amounts of nickel everyday. It goes on to say that touching nickel can cause allergic irritation in about 10-20% of the population.  The CDC does not mention a link between physical contact and cancer.  Even so, we are required to place labeling on our parts because Prop 65 doesn't make a distinction between types of exposure or application of chemical.

Here are some other products that contain more nickel than the volume allowed by Prop 65.

• The US 5 Cent Piece (25% Nickel)
• Non magnetic stainless steel  (found in everything from silverware to doorknobs)
• Most guitar strings
• Most fret wire
• Most plated parts including jewelry

The bottom line: We believe that our hardware is very safe provided you don't inhale large quantities of it. If you have a nickel allergy, we recommend that you use one of our chrome plated bridges.

cbilly22

ICBM said:

Guitar strings have been proven to be harmful if you eat more than three packets a week.

Only coated ones.

scrumhalf

My guitar playing can be hazardous to my heath, especially if the listener is bigger and faster than me.

skunkwerx

Kittyfrisk said:

skunkwerx said:

Mad world. 

Buy a guitar which 'may' contain trace amounts of potential substances linked to cancer... 

In a state thats seen 3 mass shootings in 4 days... 


They've got their priorities spot fucking on. 

Arsehole chemicals. 

You're not wrong, but as I said earlier, these days it's all about risk aversion & corporate arse covering.
Mind you, in the US I'd do exactly the same rather than risk getting entangled in their legal system.

Hmmm, if you think about guitar construction generally though...
Hardwood dust inhalation -cancerous
Polyester/Polyurethane/Nitrocellulose -cancerous
Nickel/chrome plating process - cancerous
And the strings of course.
Be safe out there 

True that. 

Being a coeliac I see a lot of restaurants that can say the ingredients don't contain gluten, and the dish is advertised as 'safe' but they can't guarantee it won't be cross contaminated in the kitchen. 

I'll get ill for a week but it won't kill me. Not that I risk stuff anyway. 

Kittyfrisk

^ Tough situation that.
I'm generally intolerant of so called food intolerances, as most of it is just finicky attention seeking, virtue signalling.
Such behaviour detracts from those like yourself with real health issues related to food.
Coeliac is not an intolerance, it's far more serious, same for those with anaphylaxis.

guitars4you

There has been some chatter for a while now within the EU about a ban on nickel - Not sure what extent - Heard a buzz within the MIA music trade body that if this was the case, that like CITES, can the guitar trade be exempt - Look and wait

JerkMoans

Maybe not the guitar itself, so much as the 33 year booze, coke, weed, smack, Lude, ket., E, acid, uppers, downers, sidewaysers and shroom binge I’ve been on since I got my first one. Occasionally with band mates and/or with hookers.

rocktron

Eddie Van Halen allegedly had tongue cancer due to his habit of holding his metal guitar pick in his mouth:-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7568003/Eddie-Van-Halen-suffering-throat-cancer-contracted-sucking-metal-guitar-pick.html