House Advances Bill To Bring Better Sunscreens to U.S. Market

Washington, D.C. – The House of Representatives today advanced a bill that could bring more effective sunscreens to the U.S. market and help reduce the risk of skin cancer, EWG said in a statement today.

The Sunscreen Innovation Act, introduced by Reps. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and John Dingell (D-Mich.), passed on a voice vote.

The U.S. market has a limited selection of sunscreens, largely because the Food and Drug Administration fails to review and approve new active ingredients quickly and efficiently. The bill aims to speed the agency’s reviews and eliminate FDA’s backlog of promising sunscreen ingredients.

“For too long, Americans have been unable to buy the same sunscreens as people in the European Union, Canada and elsewhere because FDA has simply failed to review sunscreen ingredients,” said Scott Faber, EWG senior vice president of government affairs. “Thanks to the leadership of Reps. Whitfield and Dingell, better sunscreens may soon be available to American consumers as well.”

“The Sunscreen Innovation Act will finally set real deadlines for review and create real consequences if FDA fails to act,” added Faber. “We hope the Senate will act quickly to move the bill to fix the agency’s broken sunscreen review process.”

EWG has repeatedly called on the FDA to strengthen and finalize its regulations governing the safety, effectiveness and labeling of sunscreens.

Since 2007, EWG has published an annual Guide to Sunscreens that rates the safety and efficacy of products that advertise sun protection. Earlier this year, EWG launched a sun safety public education campaign in partnership with dermatologists and sunscreen companies to increase the public’s awareness of the dangers of sun exposure.

Disqus Comments

Related News

Continue Reading