"ATTENTION. …..Medical research Authority of the US have found that new cancer in human beings caused by ‘Silver Nitro oxide’. Whenever u buy recharge cards or calling cards don’t scratch them with ur nail as it contain ‘silver nitro oxide’ coating and can cause skin cancer. Copy and paste this status and spread awareness please."
A health warning is fast spreading in social networks today, especially on Facebook. Before you try to share this information online, learn how true or how mythical it is.
First let us check if the substance 'Silver Nitro Oxide' really exists.
Upon research 'Silver Nitro Oxide' is a substance that DOESN'T exists. There are no credile references detailing or providing sufficient information about the substance. There are 2 existing substances though that maybe confused with "Silver Nitro Oxide". One substance known as 'Nitrous Oxide' does exist it is more commonly known as 'laughing gas'. Another one is 'Nitric Oxide' which is a a diatomic gas that plays a role as a cell signaling molecule in mammals and is also used as an intermediate in the chemical industry. But neither of the two compounds is used create the scratch coating in scratch cards.
HOAX!
Now let us learn what the scratch card coating is really made of.
According to wikipedia.org, a scratch card is covered by an opaque substance (usually LATEX) that can be scratched off relatively easily, while resistant to normal abrasion. An indepth technical read about the material used in scratch cards can be read in Quora.com:
"The material is known as a UV ink. Not the ink that becomes visible under UV light as is referred to on Wikipedia, but an ink that 'dries' under UV radiation.FACT!
[...]
This polymerization process also inspired the alternative naming of UV inks as 'latex inks'.
[...]
The production of scratch-off tickets is a two-step process - a substrate is covered by a thick, smooth layer of UV ink coating, and then printed with a special 'scratch-off' black/silver UV ink (scratch-off inks can sometimes be solvent-based ). An optional third step could involve printing text or images over the scratch-off area, with yet another type of UV ink."
Third, "Medical research Authority of the US", is this real?
Looking down this facility or group to check for genuinity was fruitless. No such organization was found. The closest organization to this in the US is Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or BARDA. Unlike the "Medical research Authority of the US", BARDA has no claims about this "Silver Nitro Oxide" and cancer.
HOAX!
So with research and proper utilization of the internet and resources, we can safely say that this medical update is a HOAX!
I would still remind everyone to use coins or other objects when scratching the coating of your scratch cards instead of your fingernails as Latex allergy DOES exist, not as deadly as cancer but totally avoidable. :)
