The highest profile issue that Ley had to confront was sodium cyclamate. An artificial sweetener, it was originally brought to market as a flavoring ingredient in drugs, but in 1958, it was designated GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) and its uses expanded, first into table sugars, then into many foods. By 1969 there were $1 billion in annual sales of cyclamate. However, by that time some animal studies had shown that very high doses of cyclamates, at levels of humans ingesting 350 cans of diet soda per day, led to higher rates of bladder cancer in rats. Amidst the growth of the environmental movement and its concern with chemicals, pressure mounted on the government to restrict the use of cyclamate. In October 1969, Department of Health, Education & Welfare Secretary Robert Finch bypassed Ley and the FDA, and removed the GRAS designation from cyclamate, banning its use in general purpose foods but keeping it available for restricted use in dietary products with additional labeling. In October 1970, a year after Ley left, the FDA banned cyclamate completely from all food and drug products in the United States.