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Community Corner

FDA Applies New Rules to Sunscreen

New guidelines are designed to reduce consumer confusion.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently changed the rules on sunscreen, which will not only change the product labeling, but also how consumers buy and use sunscreens.

“Under the new guidelines, any sunscreen that says ‘broad spectrum’ will have to protect against UVA and UVB light,” said Brian Horvath, MD, a dermatologist at Horvath Dermatological Associates in Upper St. Clair.

“The SPF, or sun protection factor, will still refer only to UVB protection, but as long as the sunscreen label says ‘broad spectrum,’ it also will protect well against UVA light.”

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Additionally, only a broad spectrum sunscreen that protects against UVA and UVB light and has an SPF of at least 15 can claim to protect against skin aging and skin cancer.

According to Dr. Horvath, under the current guidelines, the SPF on a sunscreen refers only to UVB protection. UVB sunrays cause burning and skin cancer. However, the sun also emits UVA sunrays, which also can cause skin cancer and photo-aging, but not burning. 

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And although a sunscreen may say ‘broad spectrum’ on the label, it may not have adequate UVA protection. Also, sunscreens can currently claim to be ‘waterproof,’ although the sunscreen may come off in the water after only one hour. Under the new rules, no sunscreen will be able to be ‘waterproof,’ but will be instead labeled as ‘water resistant,’ and also will provide the length of time that the sunscreen will work in the water.

“The key for consumers to remember amidst all of these changes is that as long as the sunscreen has an SPF of 30 and says broad spectrum, they should be buying a quality sunscreen,” Dr. Horvath said.

These new rules, according to Dr. Horvath, were made partly because too many sunscreens were calling themselves broad spectrum, when they only protected against UVB light. And, there are newer sunscreens that protect better against UVA light.

According to the website WebMD, the new rules, which are more than 30 years in the making, will take effect by summer 2012, although some sunscreen manufacturers may choose to change their labels earlier. In addition to the broad spectrum labeling, sunscreens also will have a fact box on the label that will list warnings and other important information in an easy-to-find location.

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