By Elena Ognivtseva

You wouldn’t let your kids play with unsafe toys made using harmful chemicals, so why do you? If you’re buying your sex toys while on holiday, or purchasing from a vendor who doesn’t put quality and safety above all other factors, you’re putting yourself at risk. Sex toys aren’t yet regulated by production law, but perhaps they should be.

6 types of phthalates are banned from use in children’s toy manufacture. They are deemed unsafe for use given the proximity of the child to the actual toy. However, phthalates are routinely used to soften plastic and to make them more pliable in a range of other applications. They’re designed to give products flex and strength and are found in a huge range of items – from water-bottles to flooring. They are also occasionally included in plastic or rubber sex toy manufacture.

Studies have shown that prolonged exposure to these chemicals can have an adverse reaction on your health, such as lowered sperm count and even cancer. While phthalates might be present in things like your car dashboard, you’re not regularly introducing your car dashboard into your intimate areas… we should hope. But the same can’t be said for sex toys: they’re specifically designed to toy with your nether regions.

That’s why the German Green Party and the Swedish Government have both called for an investigation into the long-term effects of using sex toys that contain phthalates. "What we know about these chemicals is that they have strong reproduction inhibiting effects but it is not known how people are affected by using sex toys that contain the chemicals," said Anna Anna Löfström, a Swedish environmental inspector.

Until the results are known, sex toy users are being urged to consider what they’re putting into their bodies. There are hundreds – if not thousands – of sex toys that are completely body-safe and are produced without phthalates. For the last decade, sex toy manufacturers have been voluntarily removing harmful phthalates from their manufacturing processes despite the fact that there is no body governing sex toy manufacture.

In addition, many sex toy retailers only stock toys that are body safe and are very careful about the lines they carry in the interest of public safety. Buy your toys from a reputable retailer and always check the fine print. Opt for toys that are phthalate-free and safe for use.