Senate wants FDA sunscreen rule finalized

In their latest effort to improve testing and labeling standards for sunscreen products - noting that "another summer season is almost over" - Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., introduce SUN Act Aug. 1. Bill would require FDA to finalize within 180 days its proposed rule amending the final monograph on sunscreens to include UVA protection standards. "The FDA's current standards for sunscreen testing and labeling leave Americans with a false sense of security about whether their sunscreen protects them from harmful UVA rays," Dodd says. The agency's draft rule, issued in August 2007, has met with resistance from industry, which maintains that certain proposed labeling requirements are "unduly burdensome" and could confuse consumers (1"The Rose Sheet" Jan 14, 2008, p. 3). The Environmental Working Group has also pressed FDA to implement the final sunscreen monograph, which was issued in 1999 but has consistently been stayed due to pressure from industry (2"The Rose Sheet" July 7, 2008, p. 3). EWG is a supporter of the SUN Act, along with the American Cancer Society, Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic...