I never thought that I’d ever inquired into political issues as they relate to sunscreens, but the case is extremely charged and future decisions are sure to matter with any changes within the administration and therefore the political landscape.
As I’m putting this on ink column, Vice-President Joe Biden has won the US Presidential Election. President Donald Trump, however, has not acknowledged his defeat within the election and has vowed to contest that call. The Senate is additionally being contested and also the two run-off elections within the state of Georgia deciding the bulk status are held in early January. A split Congress, with the bulk within the House and Senate belonging to the opposing parties, will have significant implications on future regulations.
During the previous Democratic administration, in 2014, the Surgeon General issued a “Call to Action” to create combating cancer a high priority. The following year, Biden launched a “Moonshot” program to combat carcinoma. Implementing this ambitious effort was undertaken with no real progress. As that shot came too late during the Obama Administration. A replacement administration with Biden as president will most definitely put combating cancer front and center again.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) studies published within the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2019 and 2020 raised the bar significantly regarding the security of ultraviolet filters. Not only to approve new UV filters but also to permit the utilization of these filters that were deemed Category I since 1978, new suggestions have emerged that extensive MUsT, DART research, and long-term damage and other reproductive tests must be conducted.
The FDA exclusive privileges to issue final regulations with minimal due process of law from these manufacturers of UV filters and sunscreens is what the OTC Monograph Reform legislation of 2020 gave. Final administrative orders (AO) that may ban or approve as GRASE (Category I) the present list of UV filters which the FDA is now authorized to issue. Potentially, they will ban most of the organic absorbing UV filters and possibly keep philosopher’s wool and titanic oxide because the only two approved UV filters. Any new UV filters or modifications in percentages permitted, to be used in sunscreen formulations is what the OTC Reform Act has authorized substantial “administrative fees” approved. Levied on manufacturers of all sunscreen products like the ones reviewed at 랭킹닷컴 and those within the US are those OMUFA and OMOR fees.
A Study on Coral
Another development, which was precipitated by the recent Hawaii legislation, immersed the banning of oxybenzone, octinoxate, and other UV filters because of their environmental impact on coral reefs. Several other states, and even other countries, soon followed Hawaii’s lead and initiated requires similar legislation.
To check the impact of UV filters on coral reefs and can also evaluate the potential public health implications related to reduced use of sunscreen for protection against ultraviolet exposure, Congress has authorized a study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). An expert panel is being recruited and can be announced soon.
So, what’s pending at the FDA concerning sunscreen regulations? Everything! For one thing, Secretary of Health and Human Service (HHS) Alex Azar recently mandated that no decisions by the FDA are often issued without his approval. Azar’s limitations on the FDA will be undoubtedly reversed by the Biden appointment at the HHS. Additionally, decreased regulations, and also the reduction of restrictions on business, are that the mainstay of this Republican administration vis-a-vis the Democratic party’s platform. No matter who is in power, regulations must be finalized as major issues confront sunscreen regulations. Will that happen in our lifetime? Nobody knows!
ALSO READ: 3 Ways SEO Impacts Political Campaigns
Many Issues Remain
Currently, it behooves us to review them to grasp and appreciate the seriousness and gravity of their consequences as there are many issues regarding sunscreen regulations.
A “Proposed Order“ for the regulation of sunscreens was issued by the 2020 OTC Monograph Reform legislation. UV filters that are GRASE and Category I filters are going to be approved or disqualified s the FDA will soon issue “Administrative Orders” (AO).
The testing protocols have not been finalized yet to see the efficacy and the security of UV filters.
OMOR and OMUFA fees are going to be levied on all future developments and production of sunscreens.
Will the US allow the so-called Time and Extent Application (TEA) European filters?
If avobenzone and therefore the spouse dozen organic UV absorbing chemical filters are banned, then the industry as we all know it today will cease to exist. The impact on radiation protection is immense. Will the photostability issues be addressed if avobenzone is approved? Will ZnO and TiO2 be allowed to be mixed with avobenzone?
All the opposite issues that I’ve got repeatedly outlined in my previous columns are going to be live, including SPF levels, spray safety, testing issues, and nanoparticles.
While I’ve got focused my column on the continued issues with sunscreen regulations that directly impact our industry, I’m cognizant of the continuing issues that our country faces during this COVID-19 pandemic. But the actual fact is that, together with the pandemic, carcinoma will still be one of every of our major health concerns. They’re not mutually exclusive health concerns, and concerted efforts all told facets of society and industry can work together to unravel both issues and, hopefully, give us something positive within the New Year.