What Consumers Should Know about the FDA's New Sunscreen Rules (ContributorNetwork)

The Food and Drug Administration announced last week it was implementing new rules and regulations regarding the labels found on all non-prescription sunscreens. According to the New York Times, the move follows decades of research into the efficacy of various kinds of sunscreen in preventing sunburn, skin cancer, and premature skin aging.

Most companies must comply with the new labeling rules by next year. Smaller manufacturers have up to two years to comply. Gone are the notions that any sunscreens are truly waterproof, or that they automatically protect against all the sun's rays. Instead, companies will be required to prove to the FDA just how effective their product is before being able to label it certain ways.

While some applauded the new rules, which took more than three decades to materialize, there have been some very vocal critics of the new system. Watchdog groups like the Environmental Working Group and others have maintained that the new bar for sunscreens is set so low that up to 80 percent of the sunscreens already on the market will easily pass the FDA's tests, even though they would fail European standards for protection against UVA, the type of rays that cause skin cancer.

Here are some facts related to the FDA's new rules about sunscreen labels.

* Under the new rules, any sunscreen that has an SPF of 15 or below will be required to carry a warning label. This warning will caution consumers that the product has been proved effective only in preventing sunburn, not skin cancer or premature aging of the skin.

* If a sunscreen cannot be proved to be "broad spectrum," that is, to protect against both UVB and UVA rays, it must carry the same warning as low-SPF sunscreens.

* Manufacturers can no longer label sunscreens with tags like "waterproof," "sweatproof," or "instant protection." The FDA has determined that these labels are exaggerations of a product's effectiveness, and such claims are not possible in practical use.

* Gone is the ability of a manufacturer to label a sunscreen at a higher SPF than 50. The FDA has determined that there isn't enough evidence that a higher SPF than 50 provides any more protection. From now on, any sunscreen that claims to have a higher than 50 SPF can only label itself "SPF 50+."

* "Water-resistant" claims have now been split into one of two categories: "40 minute" and "80 minute." This pertains only to a sunscreen's ability to resist coming off when the consumer is either swimming or sweating. "Waterproof" is no longer an allowed designation. Sunscreens that are not water-resistant will be required to state that in the new factbox required to be on every package.

* Sunscreens will now be required to have a "drug facts" box on the package just like all other over-the-counter medications.

Vanessa Evans is a musician and former freelance writer based in Michigan, with a lifelong interest in health and related issues.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110624/us_ac/8691201_what_consumers_should_know_about_the_fdas_new_sunscreen_rules

pineapple upside down cake pandemic 2 the day the earth stood still greeting cards lol daddy us golf open 2011