Sunscreens get the once over from FDA; new SPF rules coming
WASHINGTON -- Help is on the way if you are confused by the maze of sun protection numbers and other claims on sunscreens.
Starting next summer, you can start looking for SPF 15 bottles and tubes with the label "broad spectrum" and feel confident that they are lowering your risk of skin cancer.
Under new rules published Tuesday, sunscreens will have to filter out the most dangerous type of radiation to claim they protect against skin cancer and premature aging. "Broad spectrum" is the new catchphrase from the Food and Drug Administration to describe a product that does an acceptable job blocking ultraviolet B rays and ultraviolet A rays.
If a sunscreen doesn't protect against both, or the sun protection factor is below 15, then it has to carry a warning: "This product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn, not skin cancer or early skin aging."
The new regulations require that sunscreens be tested for the ability to block the more dangerous ultraviolet A rays, which can penetrate glass and pose the greatest risk of skin cancer and wrinkles.
The FDA currently requires testing only for protection against ultraviolet B rays, which primarily cause sunburn but also can cause cancer and other damage. That's what the familiar SPF measure is based on.
Most dermatologists recommend a broad spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher every two hours while outside.
Last year, an estimated 68,130 people in the U.S. were diagnosed with melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Prentiss Findlay
Dr. Karl Gruber of James Island welcomed news of the new federal rules regarding sunscreen.
"I'm glad to see the Food and Drug Administration is finally moving in the right direction," Gruber said.
Gruber, a surgical pathologist, said he became interested in the issue because of the increasing number of skin cancers he was seeing in young people. He explored the content of sunscreens because his son had allergies related to the products.
The most important thing in a sunscreen is that it provides broad spectrum protection from ultraviolet B and ultraviolet A rays. Some 80 percent of products do not provide protection from ultraviolet A rays, he said.
"That's what made me mad enough to start a company," Gruber said.
The business he started on Daniel Island makes a product call Luca Sunscreen that protects against both types of rays, he said.
Gruber said a person who uses high SPF protection may not be burned by the sun. However, they can unknowingly be "cooked with UVA spectrum," he said.
"That's awful. That's what got me into it," he said.
