Hydrofluorocarbon 152a
HFC-152a · 1,1-Difluoroethane
What it is
A fluorinated gas (CAS 75-37-6) used to pressurize the can and push product out as a fine mist.
In this product: Aerosol propellant.
Dose & route, what actually matters
Documented harms (cardiac arrhythmia, death) come from deliberate concentrated inhalation abuse, not from spraying a deodorant. It clears the blood quickly via exhalation. The honest story here is the regulatory asymmetry, not acute danger to a normal user.
EUROPEAN UNION
Restricted in EU personal-care and household aerosols under the F-Gas Regulation (EU) No 517/2014. The EU formulation of this product uses only hydrocarbon propellants instead.
UNITED STATES
Permitted. CIR judged it safe at present use levels (2017). A 2024 US CPSC proposal targets high-concentration aerosol dusters only, not deodorants.
The evidence
CIR noted the EU restricts fluorinated gases in personal-care and household products for environmental protection; CIR found HFC-152a safe at US use levels.
regulatory · 2017 · source
California Prop 65: Not listed.
How to avoid it
Choose a non-aerosol (stick, roll-on, or pump) deodorant, or an EU-market aerosol that uses hydrocarbon propellants.
Where it hides
Editorial analysis of publicly available regulatory and peer-reviewed sources. Not medical advice. We name our evidence and link it, including when an ingredient is fine.