Congress Passes Sunscreen Bill

Americans will soon have more choices when it comes to protecting their skin from the sun’s harmful rays thanks to the Sunscreen Innovation Act (S. 2141). The bill, which aims to accelerate FDA’s approval of new sunscreen active ingredients, was passed by the House of Representatives on Nov. 13 and sent to President Barack Obama to sign into law. The legislation cleared the Senate in September. Under the bill, FDA would have to complete a review of the safety and efficacy of a new ingredient and make a regulatory decision within 300 days after an application is filed. The agency would have a shorter deadline for clearing up the current backlog of submissions. Sunscreen manufacturers have long been seeking such a law, claiming that some ingredients awaiting approval in the U.S. have been widely available in Europe and other parts of the world, in some cases for more than a decade. The Public Access to SunScreens Coalition, a group of sunscreen manufacturers and skin cancer experts, says the measure will ensure that FDA approves the latest sunscreens in a predictable time frame.