The mouthrinse recommendation should fit the patient's needs (and wants):
Perio/gingivitis with low caries risk and no xerostomia = listerine (maybe a round of chlorhex, prn)
Perio/gingivitis with high caries risk and/or xerostomia = Crest Pro Health or Biotene with in-office fluoride treatments
Slight to moderate caries risk and no perio/gingivitis = ACT or Fluoriguard.
High caries risk = in-office fluoride or Prevident paste.
Xerostomia = Biotene
I don't really think ACT does that much- it only has .05% NaF in it, and toothpaste has about .243% NaF. The new Crest Pro Health paste has .4% stannous, which is the same as GelKam, but it tastes better. I recommend it if people don't want to rinse with fluoride, or if they need extra fluoride AND an anti-gingivitis rinse.
Someone on this thread mentioned the "dead skin" after using listerine and a bunch of whitening stuff. Some folks are particularly sensitive to whitening products and it causes the cells to slough off. Just avoid whitening products. Tartar control can also cause this.
I have had a patient with moderate interproximal staining after using Crest Pro Health rinse. It looked just like chlorhexidine stain and I was surprised that he hadn't been using chlorhex. One of the other hygienists said that the pro health rinse had stannous fluoride in it, but it's not listed on the bottle anywhere. BTW, they now make clear Crest Pro Health.
In short, look at the active ingredients on these products. The new whitening listerine is a waste of money- it has no essential oils in it. I don't recommend alcohol based products if the patient has dry mouth, high caries or smokes a lot (that's where the cancer risk comes into play). Look at the concentrations of fluoride on the products, too. And keep it simple! People (normal people who aren't dental dorks like us) do not want to spend 10 minutes on their teeth and use 2 or 3 different rinses. Some of them don't even want to brush twice a day.