Hot Summer Topic: Sunscreens

Don’t say goodby to heavy-duty sunscreens just yet. Opposition to the government’s day-old proposal to ban lotions with sun protection factors above 30 is already heating up.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration maintains that a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 provides almost total protection from the sun’s burning rays. The agency argues that products with SPF numbers higher than 30 are unnecessary and confusing to consumers.

Two of the nation’s largest sunscreen makers disagree.

Schering Plough, maker of Coppertone, Shade and Water Babies lotions, said the FDA’s position is “inconsistent” with the company’s research. Schering’s lotions are available in SPFs up to 45.

Jack Surrette, vice president of the manufacturer of Hawaiian Tropic lotions, says consumers should be free to choose products with high SPFs. “I’m the first to agree that an SPF of 45 or 50 is overkill,” he said. “The question is whether overkill should be available.”

SPF factors of Hawaiian Tropics lotions run to 50.

The debate won’t be settled this summer. Federal rules give the industry 180 days to comment on the proposal.

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Coupon use on the rise: Coupon-clippers were busy in 1992. According to CMS Inc., a coupon-processing firm, consumers saved $4.7 billion last year by using coupons. That was 7% more than in 1991.

Explaining the increase, CMS said more coupons were distributed last year, and their amounts were higher, as manufacturers tried to persuade reluctant consumers to buy.

The firm hired the Roper Organization to conduct a survey on attitudes toward coupons. Some of the findings:

* Two out of five consumers surveyed said they would try a new product only if they had a coupon for it.

* Nine out of 10 of those polled said they used as many or more coupons in 1992 as they did in 1991.

* One out of four consumers said they would buy something they don’t immediately need if they had a coupon for it.

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Readers react: Last week’s column on Sav-on Drug Stores’ gimmicky prescription price promotion triggered reaction from Sav-on customers who are upset because their drug costs haven’t gone down.

First, a review. Last week we explored Sav-on Drug’s claim that it has “lowered thousands of prescription prices” when, in fact, it has reduced prices on 300 drugs. The company’s explanation: The 300 drugs are used to fill thousands of individual prescriptions. The company would not identify the drugs.

Francis E. Urman, a Times reader in Westminster, told us the promotion apparently does not cover his cardiac medication. When Urman filled his prescription at a Sav-on store last week, he paid $3 more than he had paid in December.

Or, take the case of Johan Van Leer, a Times reader in Santa Monica who paid $26.39 for an anti-anxiety drug in March. After he complained the price was too high--the wholesale price is $10.03--Van Leer said he received a $15 refund.

Sav-on has since changed its pricing on the anti-anxiety drug, but not as you might expect. A Sav-on pharmacist at the Venice store where Van Leer filled his prescription told us it has gone up 5%, to $27.69.

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Odds and ends: As part of its “Have a Safe Stay” promotion, San Francisco’s Hotel Diva is leaving a complimentary condom in each room’s safe. . . . General Mills plans to introduce Bunelitos, its first cereal aimed at the Latino market, in California and four other states next month. The company said the text on the box will be in English because “most Hispanics are bilingual.”