EWG: 92% Sunscreens Ineffective!
By Ronee Roy, Gaea News NetworkTuesday, May 25, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO (GaeaTimes.com)- Bad news for sunbathers- EWG has claimed 92% of sunscreen products to be ineffective and potentially dangerous. EWG (Environmental Working Group) is a non-profit organization that helps in spreading health and environmental awareness. The group conducted a research that revealed that more than 92% of the sunscreen products are useless in protecting the human skin against the sun and some even contain substances that can cause skin diseases.
According to the research, products containing Vitamin A are a real threat. Another category of sunscreen products that have been flagged by the organization are ones which contain Oxybenzone that gets into the human bloodstream. More than 97% Americans have been found to have Oxybenzone in their blood. A major blame goes to the Food and Drug Administration that is supposed to issue a sunscreen regulation guideline since 1978. The guideline is reportedly being released this year October and it is expected that the sunscreen industry will be given a year to modify the products according to the guidelines. Therefore the products will be taken off the shelf after quite a long time.
The sunscreen industry has called EWG research results ‘Unsubstantiated’. They argued that the real danger are the skin diseases like early aging and skin cancer caused by exposure to sun. They went on to add that EWG is the ‘Chicken Little’ in the industry and are there are no real evidences to their claims. Millions of people rely on sunscreen with varying SPF counts depending on the time period of exposure or skin sensitivity. The news is bound to affect the magnanimous sunscreen market in the US.
