TORONTO - A Toronto Liberal MP is calling on the federal health minister to take steps to regulate the adult sex toy industry in Canada.
Carolyn Bennett sent a letter to Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq this week saying that chemicals used in most sex toys pose a potential health risk for women.
Bennett, a medical doctor, tells the Globe and Mail that the issue is plastics such as bisphenol A, a controversial chemical in Canada, and phthalates, used to make plastic soft and flexible.
Dozens of studies have shown the chemicals may cause hormonal complications at certain levels of exposure.
The owner of a Toronto sex shop says both elements are common in sex toys, which are classified as "novelty" items in Canada and are therefore removed from almost all oversight.
Bennett says bisphenol A can't be used in baby bottles and phthalates can't be used in children's mouth toys, but there are no rules preventing their use in sex toys.
"Sex is a pretty common activity, and these sexual toys are certainly a growing market, and I really do feel at the moment we've got a bit of a double standard in terms of what we allow and don't allow," in terms of chemicals, Bennett said in an interview posted on the Globe and Mail's website.
Bennett wrote the letter after meeting with the owners of a Toronto sex shop that specializes in eco-friendly sex toys who told her of their concerns with the kind of plastics used in most of the devices.
"I wanted to help them, because they had a good cause, in spite of the fact that it is unfortunately still a topic that makes some people uncomfortable," Bennett said.
