Kourtney Kardashian has been slammed for posting a conspiracy theory claiming that face masks meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 can cause cancer.
She shared a post on her Instagram stories claiming that blue surgical face masks are “made of PTFE, a carcinogen made from synthetic fluoride.”
The post continues: “According to Cancer.Org it increases the risk of liver, testicle, pancreas, kidney & breast tumors + ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, preeclampsia and high cholesterol. High exposure can cause influenza-like symptoms and hemorrhaging in the lungs, leading to suffocation.”
Kourtney captioned the post with a wide-eyed emoji and a head-exploding emoji.
Social media users slammed the reality star, pointing out she and the rest of the Kardashian clan had travelled to a tropical island for her sister Kim Kardashian’s birthday bash during the pandemic where they made staff wear masks.
There is currently no evidence to support the claims in Kourtney’s post and despite it citing the American Cancer Society, a member of the organization denounced the medical warning.
In a statement to the New York Post, Dr. William Cance, chief medical and scientific officer of the ACS, said: “There is no evidence to support the claim that the presence of PTFE in a mask causes cancer.
“As a surgical oncologist, I, along with thousands of colleagues in the health-care profession, have been wearing masks for years to protect patients from the spread of infections.”
An NHS doctor from the UK, Dr Joshua Wolrich, slammed Kourtney on Twitter, writing: “It’s one thing for a random people on social media to claim that masks cause cancer… it’s another for @kourtneykardash to be doing so on her Instagram stories to >100 million followers. UTTERLY F**KING UNACCEPTABLE.”
