HARTFORD, Connecticut, August 3, 2008 (ENS) - Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says the representations made by sunscreen manufacturers in their advertising and labeling are "dangerously misleading claims."
In response to a petition by Blumenthal, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year issued a new proposed rule to stop misleading claims by sunscreen manufacturers.
But almost a year later, the FDA has not implemented this rule change, prompting a frustrated Blumenthal to urge that the rules take effect in a letter last week to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, MD.
"Today and every day this summer, countless children and their families will be exposed needlessly and dangerously to life-threatening rays, often with a false sense of security created by deceptive claims from sunscreen manufacturers," Blumenthal said.
"The FDA's inaction enables - even encourages - such false claims. Through inertia, the FDA becomes complicit, morally if not legally," he said.
Currently, sunscreen labels are required to carry a Sunburn Protection Factor, SPF, value that informs potential users how well the product protects against UVB light.
Under the proposed rule, SPF designations could not exceed "50+."
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