Sunscreen Expiration Dates On Labeling Required In House Bill
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Sunscreen drug products would be required to include expiration dates and storage recommendations on labeling under a bill introduced in the House July 30. HR 2658 has been assigned to the Commerce Committee.
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Sunscreen drug products would be required to include expiration dates and storage recommendations on labeling under a bill introduced in the House July 30. HR 2658 has been assigned to the Commerce Committee. Introduced by Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), the Safe Sunscreen, Healthy Skin Act would mandate labels denoting "a date beyond which the product is not an effective screen of [UV]...rays and recommendations for the storage of the products to avoid reducing the effectiveness." "In light of how important these products are in combating skin cancer, it is appropriate that the consumer know that sunscreen is not protective against the sun's rays after a certain point," typically three to five years, the bill states. "This especially becomes true with children's sunscreens," HR 2658 continues, "as young people tend to be more severely burned and are in greater danger than adults." Studies have shown most of the damage done to skin cells from UV rays occurs within a person's first 17 years of sun exposure. Bill language is very similar to a New York state Assembly measure that has been introduced without success for the past seven sessions by Harvey Weisenberg (D-Nassau). After the latest version of the bill, A 455, passed the Assembly June 17, Weisenberg wrote letters to the New York congressional delegation urging the language be introduced at the federal level. Weisenberg worked with Crowley when the freshman representative was an assemblyman in the New York legislature. HR 2658 appears to be broad enough to encompass cosmetics with sunscreens in addition to traditional beach products. Bill language defines sunscreens as products "designed to screen the ultraviolet rays of the sun on individuals who use the products." By comparison, the state bill definition is broader: a lotion "sold for the sole purpose of protecting the skin from solar and [UV] light exposure." Support for the measure has been bipartisan, and Crowley's office expects a hearing to be scheduled this fall when Congress returns from its August recess. Co-sponsors include New York Democratic Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Michael McNulty. |