Sunscreens to be tested for health and safety: FDA (1 Viewer)

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Lila

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This article talks about health testing being done and planned by the FDA who plans to mandate further safety testing for sunscreens containing some ingredients including avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, and ecamsule.
Many things put on one's skin can get absorbed so it's worth considering what gets put there.

6953Avalon and Funicello during the filming of Beach Blanket Bingo
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_party_film

Here is an excerpt on two of the issues presented in the article; human health effects and environmental effects:

In February, the FDA called for additional testing of a dozen common sunscreen ingredients after finding that high levels of four of them -- avobenzone, oxybenzone, ecamsule and octocrylene -- can enter a person's bloodstream after just one day of use. The chemicals remained in the body for at least 24 hours after the last sunscreen application.
The most-studied chemical in sunscreens, oxybenzone, has been linked to damage to coral reefs and marine life, as well as lower testosterone levels in adolescent boys, hormone changes in men, and shorter pregnancies and disrupted birth weights in babies. Researchers, however, caution about assuming a direct cause-and-effect relationship without further studies.
The Environmental Working Group found that nearly two-thirds of the chemical sunscreens in its 2018 report contain oxybenzone, often with varying mixtures of the other common chemicals.
Skin cancer strikes more Americans each year than all other cancers combined. Melanoma, the most deadly form, accounts for only 1% of all skin cancers, but most of the deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. Its statistics show that the rates of melanoma have been steadily rising over the past 30 years; worldwide, melanoma is the 19th most diagnosed cancer. [/QUOTE]

FYI, a number of years ago I looked into the evidence for sunscreens actually preventing skin cancer deaths and was not impressed with what I found. The evidence for sunscreens preventing cancer was circumstanial at best. This is a different issue than preventing sunburn. Subsequently, the sunscreen materials like titanium and zinc oxide (the ones that make ones face look white as a clown's) seemed to have some evidence to back them and they don't appear to be absorbed through the skin.

What I find most interesting about this article is the possibility of it setting a precedent for the FDA requiring testing of frequently used products for safety and health effects. That's a big step!

Here is a link to the article:
 
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