If Saccharin Is Safe, Why Does It Require A Warning Label? Saccharin has always been surrounded by controversy. As early as 1907, the public was concerned over its safety and proposed banning it. Theodore Roosevelt, a diabetic, fought the idea. He said, "My doctor gives it to me every day…Anybody who says saccharin is injurious to health is an idiot"(Corcoran 12). Saccharin survived the onslaught for another forty years. It wasn't until the bittersweet chemical hit the mainstream consumer market in such things as diet sodas, pharmaceuticals, and chewing gum that it came under fire again. Scientists suggested that saccharin might be a carcinogen in 1951.