While soaking up those glorious rays of sunshine this summer, Americans should be mindful about what types of rays their sunscreen bottles claim to protect against, because the manufacturers won't.
The sun emits two types of ultraviolet (UV) radiation that penetrates the ozone layer. Most sunscreen products protect against just one kind — ultraviolet B rays — which can cause sunburns. But most products do not protect against ultraviolet A rays, which are responsible for wrinkles — and skin cancer. The truth is, sunscreen manufacturers aren’t going to tell you what their product won't protect against, only what it will — and even that isn’t a guarantee, according to some doctors.
This October, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to issue the first new regulations for sunscreen in more than 30 years. The proposed changes, which would be the final rule to the FDA's 2007 proposed guide, may implement new testing and labeling practices to clear up the confusion over the reliability of the sun protection factor (SPF), and whether products actually do what they advertise, such as lasting all day, being waterproof or qualifying as sunblock — meaning they protect against both UVA and UVB rays.
Wow so we'll have standards that everyone uses? That's just insane. That's UN-American! Hopefully they will make more sense than the Terror Alert system.
