Broad spectrum bunk
Today is the first full day of summer, and just in time for your trip to the beach, the FDA has announced new regulations for sunscreen products.
Oh but…wait…there’s some fine print here in the FDA release. It says, “The final regulations, which become effective in one year, establish…” blah, blah, blah.
A year. Everything takes a year with these guys!
Okay, then…just in time for your trip to the beach NEXT YEAR, the FDA is talking about some new rules for sunscreen makers.
In a nutshell, a sunscreen producer will have to demonstrate that the product protects against UVA and UVB solar rays, and has an SPF of 15 or higher. Products that meet those criteria will be designated “broad spectrum.”
The agency is also proposing (just proposing, now — nothing is written in stone) that the maximum SPF value on a product label would be limited to “SPF 50+.”
We know from the research of the Environmental Working Group (EWG — an independent non-profit) that any number higher than 50 is fiction. (It’s nice to see the FDA paying attention to someone’s actual research for a change…instead of just press releases from corporate interests.)
In fact, for a long time now the folks at EWG have been way out ahead of the FDA on informing the public about sunscreen efficacy and safety. And judging by the recent EWG press release, they would probably rate the new agency guidelines and rules around SPF 0.2 or lower.
Waiting and waiting and waiting…
When it comes to sunscreen, EWG has been keeping close tabs on the FDA.
Until the recent FDA announcement about regulating sunscreens, you could go to the EWG website and find a digital clock counting up the years, months, days, hours and minutes since the FDA pledged to regulate.
Care to guess how long it’s been?
Let’s put it this way: Some people who were born on the day the FDA first promised to establish sunscreen regulations now have kids of their own in middle school! It’s been nearly 33 years.
So was it worth the very long wait? In a word: no.
An EWG senior scientist notes that the FDA’s new rules will limit misleading claims, but as he puts it, “It is clear that FDA caved to industry and weakened its safety standards.”
Yes, that sounds like our FDA, alright!
Here are some of the EWG’s primary gripes with the new rules:
- Under the agency’s weak standard for UVA protection,consumers won’t be able to tell superior products from mediocre products
- Some products will qualify as “broad spectrum,” but won’t offer genuine protection from skin damage
- About 20 percent of the products that will be labeled “broad spectrum” would not even be allowed to be sold in Europe where sunscreen safety standards are high
- The FDA will continue to allow the use of several ingredients that some scientists consider potentially toxic
Clearly, the FDA is botching the job. And worse, consumers will believe that the sunscreen safety situation is under control and place their trust in many untrustworthy products.
Ugh! It’s just mind-numbingly familiar!
Top AND bottom
Fortunately, the EWG has been working tirelessly to do the FDA’s job. So don’t wait a year for the “official” line on sunscreens. You can go to the EWG sun safety website today (breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/), and find plenty of excellent information to help steer you to safe choices for sunscreens and –- even better -– sunblocks.
At HSI we don’t tout the mainstream line of slathering chemicals from top to bottom. And we strongly recommend time in the sun for vitamin D absorption and the overall health benefits. But we’ve all stayed out too long and suffered for it, so there are some methods of sun protection we support.
EWG’s Rule One is almost the same as ours here at HSI: “The best sunscreen is a hat and a shirt.”
(I believe if they stopped to think about it EWG would agree that covering the legs and feet is also a good idea.)
In a section of the EWG website called “Best Beach & Sport Sunscreens” you’ll find recommendations for more than 130 sunscreen and sunblock products that all rate as “low hazard” in terms of providing the highest SPF with a minimum of hazardous ingredients.
The EWG’s top-rated sunscreen products all contain zinc or titanium, which are the two primary ingredients in sunblock. They give the best broad spectrum protection, and reduce the need for any additional chemicals that may actually do more harm than good.
EWG offers vague guidelines for getting enough sun exposure to help maintain good levels of vitamin D. Unless you’re very fair-skinned or have some other intolerance to sunlight, HSI recommends you allow yourself 15 or 20 minutes of direct sun exposure before covering up or applying sunblock or sunscreen.
And if you happen to see any FDA officials at the beach this summer, try to resist the urge to kick sand in their faces. Or not.
Sources:
“FDA Sheds Light on Sunscreens” FDA Consumer Update, 6/14/11, fda.gov
“FDA Sunscreen Rules Too Little and VERY Late” Environmental Working Group, Press release, 6/14/11, ewg.org
