With US market of hemp- and CBD-containing supplements and food booming, likelihood is growing products made with ingredients will gain approval in the country to be marketed with consumer health indications, said consumer health business executives during a panel discussion at CHPA conference. Legalization of marijuana sales and use by some states and other countries also will influence future of CBD use in US consumer health products, they say.

Influencing consumers with facts about health care topics frequently littered with inaccurate advice from non-expert social media sources requires having trust, say consumer health business executives from Bayer, J&J, Sanofi and Taisho Pharmaceutical at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association executive conference. "From a trust perspective, I think that health care is a deeply personal and emotional issue. ... it is definitely important to be fact-based," said Katie Devine, J&J's consumer self-care business global president.

The Department of Toxic Substances Control is still in the information-gathering stage for its recently proposed Priority Product under California’s Safer Consumer Products regulation – nail products containing toluene. Alternative analyses will follow, with five possible substitutes (including water) floated by the agency currently.

Recent statements from Cosmetic Ingredient Review leadership and Expert Panel members affirming the safety of parabens, while their latest review of the ingredients is ongoing, undermine the program’s credibility, according to NGO Women’s Voices for the Earth. CIR Director Bart Heldreth responds.

Women’s Voices for the Earth says Prestige Brands has “quietly reformulated” Summer’s Eve products to eliminate three colorants that should not be in feminine washes, based on FDA regulations and the realities of consumer practices and women’s anatomy. Now the NGO is considering next steps.

Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., is taking another swing at legislation to require cancer warnings on talc-containing cosmetics marketed to children if they have not been determined asbestos-free via transmission electron microscopy to FDA’s satisfaction.

The mega-retailer has been quietly growing its selection of private-label and Amazon-exclusive brands, recently adding Fast Beauty Co., which targets affordable, fast-acting masks to consumers on the go.

With US market of hemp- and CBD-containing supplements and food booming, likelihood is growing products made with ingredients will gain approval in the country to be marketed with consumer health indications, said consumer health business executives during a panel discussion at CHPA conference. Legalization of marijuana sales and use by some states and other countries also will influence future of CBD use in US consumer health products, they say.

Influencing consumers with facts about health care topics frequently littered with inaccurate advice from non-expert social media sources requires having trust, say consumer health business executives from Bayer, J&J, Sanofi and Taisho Pharmaceutical at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association executive conference. "From a trust perspective, I think that health care is a deeply personal and emotional issue. ... it is definitely important to be fact-based," said Katie Devine, J&J's consumer self-care business global president.

FDA should formalize its internal policy on CBD enforcement or create a pathway to make it compliant for use in supplements, says NPA President Daniel Fabricant. NPA and PCPC submitted comments on FDA request for input on agency's action at ongoing United Nations meeting on drug policy.

While Rx drug pricing is under attack by Congress, White House and consumer and public health advocacy groups, OTC drugs' value isn't gaining a higher profile. "Our health care system undervalues the contribution of our industry's products," says CHPA chief Scott Melville. Trade group conducts “Value of OTC Medicines" study for reasons including raising the profile of consumer health products in the US health care system.

Romanian self-care industry association, RASCI, provides HBW Insight with an exclusive viewpoint on the country's OTC market in 2018. 

Common thread between the manufacturers and retail chain operators offering their own and other brands extends to relatively recent executive suite shakeups following extended stretches of declining sales growth. GNC reported nearly $70m net income for 2018 after two years of net losses and Vitamin Shoppe trimmed its loss by more than $200m from 2017 to $12.1m.