NYT: A Simple Smooch or a Toxic Smack?

New York Times, Abby Ellin
Published May 26, 2009

THE debate seems to resurface every few years. Do some lipsticks contain lead? If so, is the amount so negligible that consumers have nothing to be concerned about? Or will all those years of applying lipstick several times a day add up to a worrisome accumulation of a dangerous substance? On one side are advocacy groups and doctors who insist that, over time, those who wear lipstick containing lead are at risk of absorbing high levels of a neurotoxin that may cause behavioral, learning and other problems. On the other side are the Food and Drug Administration and outside experts who say that any traces of lead that do exist are too minute to cause harm. There are no F.D.A. standards limiting lead and other toxins in lipstick. The agency leaves it up to manufacturers to decide which safety and efficacy tests to perform on products. Cosmetics companies are required to list their “intended” ingredients on labels. But lead would be considered an “unintended” byproduct of the manufacturing process. (To combat this, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, has a consumer database at www.cosmeticdatabase.com where it lists the ingredients in more than 42,000 products.) To read more click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/fashion/28skin.html?ref=style