CLEVELAND, OH — Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced his support for bipartisan legislation that would protect Ohioans from the effects of harmful exposure to the sun, including skin cancer. Brown is a cosponsor of a bipartisan bill that would strengthen the potency of U.S. sunscreen—at no cost to taxpayers—by expediting the bureaucratic review process of stronger sun protection products already available to consumers in Canada and the European Union (EU), but not the United States.

“It is unconscionable that better sunscreen products, made in America, are not available to help our citizens avoid skin cancer,” Brown said. “The FDA’s review backlog of more than a decade is unacceptable and puts lives at risk. The FDA should be blocking harmful rays, not sunscreen ingredients that can protect against them. This bipartisan legislation would eliminate the red tape that hurts the health and well-being of Americans and limits economic opportunity for our local businesses.”

There are more than two million cases of skin cancer in the United States each year and 90 percent are the result of harmful sun exposure. Melanoma, which is the most deadly type of skin cancer, kills nearly 10,000 Americans a year. While sunscreen is used by consumers to protect themselves from harmful exposure to the sun, Americans do not have access to the most advanced sunscreen that Canadians and those in the EU do.

Two types of ultraviolet radiation (UVB and UVA) damage the skin, age it prematurely, and increase the risk of skin cancer. While American sunscreen does well to block UVB—which primarily causes sunburn—American sunscreen doesn’t do as well blocking UVA, which can penetrate the skin more deeply, causing greater damage to the skin, and in many instances, cancer. The FDA has only approved three ingredients that block UVA that can be sold in the United States, compared to seven in Europe.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of all drugs, including over the counter drugs, such as sunscreen, and their ingredients. But the FDA has a backlog of pending sunscreen products which dates as far back as 2003. The last time, in fact, that a new sunscreen product was accepted by the FDA was 1999. In order to expedite and streamline the sunscreen federal review process, Brown urged Congress to pass the Sunscreen Innovation Act. The legislation, which has bipartisan support in both the Senate and House, would:

  • Require that the initial safety and effectiveness review of sunscreen applications is conducted by an advisory committee of experts, the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee (NDAC).
  • The advisory committee will make a recommendation to the FDA on whether an application should be approved or denied before the FDA makes a final determination.
  • Require the FDA to review its decade-long backlog of pending sunscreen applications within eight months of the bill’s passage;
  • Require the FDA to review all new sunscreen applications within 11 months of the bill’s passage; and
  • Require the FDA to submit a report regarding the progress of the program to Congress one year following passage of the bill and every two years thereafter.

Brown was joined at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge by local skin cancer survivors, Beth Mancini and Barb Yoost. Both shared their stories and spoke to the importance of passing Brown’s legislation. Brown was also joined by Dr. Neera Agarwal-Antal, a Northeast Ohio Dermatologist and Member of the Skin Cancer Foundation; as well as Jeff Stephens, the Ohio Government Relations Director of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

Also among the bill’s supporters are several Ohio based companies that have worked to reform the federal sunscreen review process: BASF, the largest chemical company in the world with a research and development (R&D) facility in Beachwood; L’Oreal, with a facility in Streetsboro; and Ashland Inc., with a facility in Columbus. Each are members of the Public Access to SunScreens (PASS) Coalition. The coalition consists of dermatologists, ingredient manufacturers, and health advocacy organizations. According to PASS, one national poll found that 86 percent of Americans support a program that allows for better sunscreen products.  

The Sunscreen Innovation Act is just one of Brown’s many efforts to promote the health and wellness of Ohio’s citizens. In May, Brown announced legislation that would ensure seniors who receive potentially lifesaving colon cancer preventive procedures are not hit with unfair and burdensome costs. Under current law, seniors covered by Medicare are eligible for free colorectal cancer screenings. However, if a doctor needs to take a further lifesaving, preventive action—like removing a polyp—while the patient is under anesthesia, the patient is billed as if the procedure was treatment rather than prevention. Brown’s legislation, the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act, would ensure that all colorectal cancer screenings remain cost-free for Medicare beneficiaries, regardless of whether a polyp is removed.

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