[10][11] In the 1970s, studies performed on laboratory rats found an association between consumption of high doses of saccharin and the development of bladder cancer.

[18][19] Saccharin was produced first in 1879, by Constantin Fahlberg, a chemist working on coal tar derivatives in Ira Remsen's laboratory at Johns Hopkins University.

[20] Fahlberg noticed a sweet taste on his hand one evening, and connected this with the compound benzoic sulfimide on which he had been working that day.

[10][23] In 1884, then working on his own in New York City, Fahlberg applied for patents in several countries, describing methods of producing this substance that he named saccharin.

Fahlberg would soon grow wealthy, while Remsen merely grew irritated, believing he deserved credit for substances produced in his laboratory.

In the United States, saccharin is often found in restaurants in pink packets; the most popular brand is "Sweet'n Low".

In a clash that had career consequences, Wiley told President Theodore Roosevelt, "Everyone who ate that sweet corn was deceived.

The attempted ban was unsuccessful due to public opposition that was encouraged by industry advertisements,[29] and instead the following label was mandated: "Use of this product may be hazardous to your health.

That requirement was dropped in 2000 following new research that concluded humans reacted differently than rats and were not at risk of cancer at typical intake levels.

[36][37] One or more of the proteins that are more prevalent in male rats combine with calcium phosphate and saccharin to produce microcrystals that damage the lining of the bladder.

[39] In 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the state of California reversed their positions on saccharin, declaring it safe for consumption.

[29] The FDA's decision followed a 2000 determination by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program to remove saccharin from its list of carcinogens.

The Environmental Protection Agency has officially removed saccharin and its salts from their list of hazardous constituents and commercial chemical products.

In a release in December 2010, the EPA stated that saccharin is no longer considered a potential hazard to human health.

[4] Saccharin can be used to prepare exclusively disubstituted amines from alkyl halides via a nucleophilic substitution,[44] followed by a Gabriel synthesis.