In an act that is sure to cause an unnecessary scare, industry, environmental and health groups have called for the amending of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, specifically focused on cosmetics and personal care products. The new bill, The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2013, would give the FDA the authority to create and enforce a safety standard for ingredients used in cosmetics and personal care products.
The attention paid to this act has brought to the forefront a host of publicity related to the idea that the levels of chemicals found in cosmetics are dangerous. One mom in her blog says, Many parents assume that if a product is marketed to or for children, it must be safe. Unfortunately, that s not the case. It s perfectly legal for cosmetics and personal care products to contain chemicals linked to cancer, reproductive and developmental harm, hormone disruption, asthma, and other adverse health effects.
And on a larger scale, a new ad campaign to begin in Times Square seeks to warn consumers that many kids products contain chemicals that have been linked to cancer, asthma, hormone disruption, developmental disabilities and other health problems. This campaign asks retailers to reformat products to remove these toxic chemicals. But when you look at who is backing this campaign, it is none other than the scare group Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families group, consisting of 450 health, environment and business groups.
And then of course, the metals in lipstick issue is being brought up again. Researchers measured the levels of several metals in 32 lipsticks found in department stores and drugstores in California, and found that 75 percent of those products contained lead, and half of them contained lead at levels higher than the maximum allowed by the FDA in candy meant to be consumed by children. Well, lipstick is not meant to be eaten like candy.
ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross says, Every chemical, when consumed in huge doses, is going to be toxic. However the levels of chemicals found in cosmetics is so minuscule that they cannot be associated with these alleged health problems. These groups are all focused now on trying to make the toxic substances bill more stringent, although there is absolutely no evidence that chemicals in our environment, including personal care products and cosmetics, are harming anyone. The only thing these groups are doing when putting forth this amendment is scaring the public into thinking that their cosmetics may be dangerous.
