St Louis Post Dispatch, Michael D. Sorkin
Published August 30, 2007
A decade ago, Congress gave the Food and Drug Administration a deadline of 18 months to issue new sunscreen safety regulations. Just in time for Labor Day weekend 2007, the FDA finally acted.
The agency is proposing what it calls a "consumer-friendly," four-star
sunscreen rating system.
Sunscreens currently carry SPF ratings to show how well they screen out the sun's UVB rays — the ones that cause sunburn.
But there's another kind of rays — UVAs — the ones believed to cause premature aging of the skin.
Both can cause skin cancer.
The new rules would require manufacturers to prove that their sunscreens are effective against UVAs, based upon two standardized tests. There are no standards now.
Each sunscreen would carry stars: one star for low UVA protection, two stars for medium protection, three stars for high protection and four stars for the highest UVA protection available.
Consumer groups hope the sunscreen market will change overnight.
"I don't think anyone is going to love having one star on their label," says Urvashi Rangan, a senior scientist at Consumer Reports.
The FDA insists it didn't act sooner because the technology to test for UVA didn't exist until recently — which consumer groups dispute.
The FDA will hear comments from the public until Nov. 26, but spokeswoman Rita Chapelle says consumers might be able to buy sunscreens with star ratings even before final FDA approval.
"They can start whenever they want,'' she says of the manufacturers. "And I think it's to their advantage from a marketing perspective."
But a cosmetics trade group says an early start is unlikely. The industry has been lobbying against sunscreen regulations. In 2001, the trade group hired a lawyer, John Roberts, to threaten a suit alleging that the proposed regulations violate the First Amendment.
The FDA backed off its regulations. Roberts is now chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Kathleen Dezio of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, blamed Congress for pressuring the FDA into "rushing something out."
She says it is premature to comment on the proposed rules because the industry is still evaluating them. "This takes time," she adds.
Consumer groups point to 1978, the year the FDA first proposed regulating sunscreens.
"For 29 years, they've been missing congressional deadlines and revising their proposed guidelines," says Jane Houlihan, vice president for research at the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization. "And meantime, people are getting cancer."
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, affecting a million people a year. One in five Americans gets it. Melanoma, the deadliest variety, is on the increase, according to the Centers for Disease Control. This year will bring 60,000 new cases and 8,000 deaths.
Houlihan says UVA technology has been available for years. "It's not that the technology wasn't there," she says, "it's that the FDA didn't finish its job."
The Environmental Working Group assessed 830 sunscreens and found only 134 to be safe and effective.
What's a consumer to do?
Dr. Lynn Cornelius, chief of dermatology at Washington University School of Medicine, says sunscreens already are starting to include some protection against UVA. Buyers should look for products containing benzophenones, Parsol
1789, mexoyl, zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.
Also, she says, don't forget your hat and lightweight long-sleeved shirt, and avoid intense exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Rangan, meanwhile, cautions against mistaking any sunscreen, no matter how high the rating, as "the silver bullet for cancer protection. Nobody knows how much protection you need to be safe."
Bottom line: Don't depend upon the FDA, and limit your exposure to the sun.
msorkin@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8347
