Everything Under the Sun
Many sunscreen products on the market protect one’s skin, dermatologists and industry experts say, but it can be tough trying to figure out which ones.
Part of the problem is that government standards for sunscreen protection have not been approved after 20 years of debate among medical experts and regulators at the Food and Drug Administration, which treats sunscreen as an over-the-counter drug.
Experts said the government isn’t keeping pace with an industry selling a dizzying array of products. Last year, sunscreen sales totaled $500 million and such sales have been growing an average 7% a year since 1991.
“The two reasons this has taken so long is that the FDA doesn’t have any money to pursue this issue, and voluntary compliance by the industry with the proposed rules has been very high,” said Peter Heinlein, senior project leader in the chemical-textiles department of Consumers Union, a nonprofit group that publishes Consumer Reports magazine.
The biggest problem with sunscreen, Heinlein said, is that consumers don’t use enough of it.
“They put on little dabs of the stuff,” he said, when in fact an adult should use 1 ounce of sunscreen per application, which should occur after each swim.
Heinlein said in a study two years ago that he found “most” sunscreens provide the protection they claim. FDA spokeswoman Ivy Kupec said the agency’s limited resources have been focused on approving over-the-counter products for conditions deemed to “pose more imminent health risks.”
Sun exposure is an accumulated risk with effects that might not show up for a decade or two. But Kupec acknowledges that the issue isn’t trivial because the negative effects of sun exposure can be serious, even life-threatening.
The American Academy of Dermatology predicts 1 million new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year, and more than 8,000 people will die from various types of skin cancer.
Academy studies indicate that the idea that tanned skin looks healthy has fallen in favor: 56% of those surveyed last year thought it does, down from 66% in 1986. And use of sunscreen has risen 19%. But surveys also show the number of people reporting a sunburn increased 9% last year, and the incidence of malignant melanoma, the most prevalent form of lethal skin cancer, doubled from 1973 to 1991.
There are also mixed results for sunscreen use. Another academy survey found that nine of 10 parents recognized that exposing a child to too much sun increased his or her chance of developing skin cancer, “but only 68% regularly put sunscreen on their children, compared with 96% who said they use seat belts or child safety seats.
SPF only measures protection against certain ultraviolet rays, known as UVB. Most doctors recommend that consumers use a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15, which means it absorbs 93% of UVB rays. For prolonged exposure, such as a day at the beach or a midday run, they recommend an SPF of 30, which catches 97% of such rays.
But SPF doesn’t address another type of ultraviolet light that penetrates more deeply into the skin. It is responsible for premature aging and may also contribute to skin cancer, said dermatologist Patricia Engasser in San Francisco. The FDA and industry don’t yet agree on how protection from this sunlight should be measured, she said.
The two sides also are quibbling over how claims should be worded: For example, the FDA wants to change the term “waterproof,” which means a sunscreen works after 80 minutes in the water, to “very water-resistant.” There are disputes about how to harmonize U.S. rules with those of other countries.
Despite these differences, some dermatologists predict the FDA in the next two years could issue final standards on how much sun protection manufacturers can claim on labels.
Yet even using a good product isn’t enough, dermatologist Engasser said. “No one thinks you should cover yourself with sunscreen and then go sunbathe. No one.”
