The Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) on Wednesday appealed to the government to ban certain man-made chemicals from toys and baby bottles.

In a statement, the association said it had noted that babies and young children were being exposed to man-made chemicals, some of which disrupted their hormones.

"What is of particular concern is the finding that babies have the highest concentration of some of these man-made molecules," it said.

Some countries identified these molecules and had taken steps to ban the chemicals in items used for babies.

Cansa hopes the government will follow the example of Canadian authorities concerning the banning of polycarbonate baby bottles containing Bisphenol A, and the United States government and the European Parliament for banning a specified list of phthalates found in children's toys.

Sapa