In the fight against skin cancer, regulatory delay is not a neutral act. When public officials keep better sunscreens off the market for decades, Americans are left relying on yesterday’s protection against today’s risks.
Just in time for the beginning of summer, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new sunscreen ingredient for the first time in more than a quarter-century.
Bemotrizinol is a next-generation ultraviolet filter already widely used in other nations. The FDA fully approved the ingredient for use in the United States this month, after proposing a potential approval late last year.
It’s progress, but it does not address the deeper problem. The FDA still regulates sunscreen as if it were a high-risk drug rather than a low-risk cosmetic product. That regulatory posture keeps the latest in sunscreen technology off the U.S. market and deprives Americans of some of the most effective tools available for preventing skin cancer.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
The FDA’s sunscreen rules leave Americans exposed
Sally C. Pipes
In the fight against skin cancer, regulatory delay is not a neutral act. When public officials keep better sunscreens off the market for decades, Americans are left relying on yesterday’s protection against today’s risks.
Just in time for the beginning of summer, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new sunscreen ingredient for the first time in more than a quarter-century.
Bemotrizinol is a next-generation ultraviolet filter already widely used in other nations. The FDA fully approved the ingredient for use in the United States this month, after proposing a potential approval late last year.
It’s progress, but it does not address the deeper problem. The FDA still regulates sunscreen as if it were a high-risk drug rather than a low-risk cosmetic product. That regulatory posture keeps the latest in sunscreen technology off the U.S. market and deprives Americans of some of the most effective tools available for preventing skin cancer.
Read the entire op-ed here.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.