Sun Safety Gets User-Friendly With New Regulations

CBS 2 Chicago, Mary Ann Childers
Published July 24, 2007

Millions of people use sunscreen to prevent burns. But if that's your only protection, you could be in for a painful surprise. As CBS 2 Medical Editor Mary Ann Childers reports, there is a push to improve sun safety with new FDA regulations for testing and labeling. "I put on about four applications on of 40 and still got burned,” said sunbather Mike Sommers. For some, a high sun protection factor, or SPF, is a false sense of security. "It felt like somebody took a hot iron and put it on my back, my chest and my arms,” said sunbather Holly Brown. There are a lot of variables with sunscreens. What chemicals are in them? How often should you re-apply them? What's your skin type? Are you in the water or sweating? "The current rating system that we have is very confusing to the consumer,” said dermatologist Kevin Pinski, M.D. But in the next week or so, sun safety could get better and more user-friendly. The FDA is preparing to announce comprehensive new regulations for testing and labeling of sunscreens. Standardization is needed. One study by the Environmental Working Group found that only 17 percent of 785 sunscreen products are both safe and effective for blocking UVA and UVB rays. "The current rating system really just grades the UVB, or burning ray protection,” Pinski explained. So, the only way to protect yourself from UVA now is to look for certain ingredients such as zinc oxide and mexoryl. "I believe the UVA rays are more damaging than the UVB," Pinski said. The new rules will call for ratings for UVA that go deeper into the skin where cancer and wrinkles start. The FDA may decide to give products low, medium or high ratings, or it may give separate SPF numbers for UVA and UVB rays. “This has been a long time coming and thankfully it's finally going to be happening,” Pinski said. Pinski says several medical and skin cancer groups may start awarding seals of approval to sunscreen products that test well.