Bacon
Bacon – eat at your own risk Flickr via Creative Commons

It's not just bacon, cigarettes and alcohol that will give you cancer – formaldehyde and leather dust will kill you too.

Earlier this week the World Health Organisation announced that bacon and other processed meats give you cancer. Eating 50g every day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%, the IARC (WHO's cancer-specific agency) said.

With that in mind, here are the 116 things classed as carcinogenic to humans by the IARC.

  • Formaldehyde
  • Cyclophosphamide
  • Benzo(a)pyrene
  • Thiotepa
  • Busulfan
  • Diethylstilbestrol
  • Phenacetin
  • Ethanol in alcoholic beverages
  • Benzene
  • Vinyl chloride
  • Acetaldehyde associated with consumption of alcoholic beverages
  • Ethylene oxide
  • 1,2-Dichloropropane
  • Trichloroethylene
  • 2-Naphthylamine
  • 4-Aminobiphenyl
  • Benzidine
  • ortho-Toluidine
  • 4,4'-Methylenebis(2-chloroaniline) (MOCA)
  • 1,3-Butadiene
  • Melphalan
  • Methoxsalen (8-methoxypsoralen) plus ultraviolet A radiation
  • Treosulfan
  • Chlorambucil
  • Aristolochic acid
  • Aristolochic acid, plants containing
  • Azathioprine
  • Chlornaphazine
  • Sulfur mustard
  • Bis(chloromethyl)ether; chloromethyl methyl ether (technical-grade)
  • Asbestos (all forms, including actinolite, amosite, anthophyllite, chrysotile, crocidolite, tremolite)
  • Polychlorinated biphenyls
  • Aflatoxins
  • 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzoparadioxin
  • Plutonium
  • Thorium-232 and its decay products
  • Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds
  • Beryllium and beryllium compounds
  • Cadmium and cadmium compounds
  • Coal-tar distillation
  • Radon-222 and its decay products
  • Tamoxifen
  • Radium-224 and its decay products
  • Semustine [1-(2-Chloroethyl)-3-(4-methylcyclohexyl)-1-nitrosourea, Methyl-CCNU]
  • Radium-226 and its decay products
  • Phosphorus-32, as phosphate
  • Silica dust, crystalline, in the form of quartz or cristobalite
  • Radium-228 and its decay products
  • N'-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN) and 4-(NNitrosomethylamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)
  • Chromium (VI) compounds
  • Etoposide
  • Etoposide in combination with cisplatin and bleomycin
  • 2,3,4,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran
  • 3,4,5,3',4'-Pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB-126)
  • Cyclosporine
  • Coal-tar pitch
  • Erionite
  • Shale oils
  • Acheson process, occupational exposure associated with
  • Acid mists, strong inorganic
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Aluminium production
  • Areca nut
  • Auramine production
  • Benzidine, dyes metabolized to
  • Betel quid with tobacco
  • Betel quid without tobacco
  • Clonorchis sinensis (infection with)
  • Coal gasification
  • Coal, indoor emissions from household combustion of
  • Coke production
  • Engine exhaust, diesel
  • Epstein-Barr virus
  • Estrogen therapy, postmenopausal
  • Estrogen-progestogen menopausal therapy (combined)
  • Estrogen-progestogen oral contraceptives (combined)
  • Fission products, including strontium-90
  • Fluoro-edenite fibrous amphibole
  • Haematite mining (underground)
  • Helicobacter pylori (infection with)
  • Hepatitis B virus (chronic infection with)
  • Hepatitis C virus (chronic infection with)
  • Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (infection with)
  • Human papillomavirus types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59
  • Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I
  • Ionizing radiation (all types)
  • Iron and steel founding (occupational exposure during)
  • Isopropyl alcohol manufacture using strong acids
  • Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus
  • Leather dust
  • Magenta production
  • Mineral oils, untreated or mildly treated
  • MOPP and other combined chemotherapy including alkylating agents
  • Neutron radiation
  • Nickel compounds
  • Opisthorchis viverrini (infection with)
  • Outdoor air pollution
  • Outdoor air pollution, particulate matter in
  • Painter (occupational exposure as a)
  • Phenacetin, analgesic mixtures containing
  • Polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxin-like, with a Toxicity Equivalency Factor (TEF) according to WHO (PCBs 77, 81, 105, 114, 118, 123, 126, 156, 157, 167, 169, 189)
  • Radioiodines, including iodine-131
  • Radionuclides, alpha-particle-emitting, internally deposited
  • Radionuclides, beta-particle-emitting, internally deposited
  • Rubber manufacturing industry
  • Salted fish, Chinese-style
  • Schistosoma haematobium (infection with)
  • Solar radiation
  • Soot (as found in occupational exposure of chimney sweeps)
  • Tobacco smoke, second-hand
  • Tobacco smoking
  • Tobacco, smokeless
  • Ultraviolet radiation (wavelengths 100-400 nm, encompassing UVA, UVB, and UVC)
  • Ultraviolet-emitting tanning devices
  • Wood dust
  • X- and Gamma-Radiation