EWG Claims 92% Sunscreens Ineffective Or Harmful
May 25th, 2010 - 7:59 pm ICT by GDBy Meena Kar
May 25, (THAINDIAN NEWS) In a Breakthrough research EWG (Environmental Working Group) has claimed more than 92% sunscreens to be ineffective and even potentially harmful for the skin. The group called some of the best-selling sunscreens to be modern day equivalents of ’snake oil’.
After evaluating 500 sunscreen products, the group approved of only 39 to be safe for the skin. EWG specially warned against products that do not protect the skin against Ultraviolet A (UVA) and have vitamin A derivative retinyl palmitate in them. This element according to EWG, can accelerate skin lesion. Another compound that has been marked as dangerous by EWG is Oxybenzone which was found to be in 97% of Americans. The 39 products that managed to get the approval of EWG all contain zinc or titanium. Sunscreen users all over have been disturbed by the data because most of the top sunscreen products have come under the scanner as being potentially cancerous for the skin.
The Sunscreen companies have called EWG’s research ‘unsubstantiated’ and false. They argued that millions of people use the products everyday and protect themselves from skin problems that are caused due to exposure to sunlight. The sunscreen industry referred to the EWG as the ‘Chicken Little’ of lore and stated that it has no real evidence behind the claim. A lot of blame now goes to the FDA (Food And Drug Administration) which is yet to finalize sunscreen regulations that it promised to release since 1978. FDA’s research on Vitamin A has shown that it is photocarcinogenic which means that in the presence of sunlight it undergoes complex biochemical reactions that can cause cancer.
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Tags: biochemical reactions, breakthrough research, chicken little, environmental working group, equivalents, ewg, fda food, food and drug, food and drug administration, kar, lore, oxybenzone, retinyl palmitate, skin lesion, skin problems, snake oil, sunscreen industry, sunscreen products, sunscreen regulations, zinc