Sunscreen Saftey & Effectiveness

ABC NY 7 Online
Published July 15, 2007

It is one of those must-have summer items: sunscreen. But for something so important, there are no performance standards for sunscreen. Now, there is a new push for FDA standards to address how much protection sunscreens really offer. Dr. Jay Adlersberg has more. We know too much time in the sun can increase our risk of sunburn and skin cancer. So we urge people to use sunscreens. Now, Westchester Congresswoman Nita Lowey says she wants laws that establish some safety standards for these products. The beach-goers have been packing the beaches. And so have their sunscreens. Many of them were confident that they were getting protected against both sunburn and skin cancer. Christina Mohl had SPF 50 sunscreen. "We have a history of skin cancer in my family, so the higher the better for me," she said. But not all sunscreens are protecting against the two different kinds of damaging rays. Lowey now wants the FDA to establish standards for sunscreen products. "A report released in June by the Enviornmental Working Group, a non-profit gropu based in Washington, D.C., found that 83 percent of the 786 sunscreens tested offer inadequate protection from the sun," she said. Most consumers now depend on SPF readings, which measure how much time you can safely stay in the sun without a sunburn. The congresswoman also wants sunscreens to be required to disclose their protection against both UVA rays, the kind that cause skin cancer, and UVB rays, which cause sunburn. "There needs to be a number, just like the SPF," dermatologist Dr. Andrew Bronin said. "Where we can say not just how much UVB protection you have, but how much UVA protection you have." The report, issued in June by the Environmental Working Group, found some misleading marketing claims on the sunscreens that were more often myths. They were claims of: All-day protection Being waterproof Chemical free Blocking all harmful rays "So they not only block the information, but the sunscreen companies are blocking the truth," Lowey said. There is no doubt that sunscreen use can be confusing, but one thing is still very clear. Legislation may or may not happen, but consumers need to use sunscren when they are out in the sun, all the time. And preferably, experts say, one that protects against both kinds of rays. (Copyright 2007 WABC-TV)