
Unlike the pharmaceutical industry, the personal-care industry is essentially
self-regulated. In fact, the federal government has not updated the laws
regulating the personal care industry since 1938 when it was first enacted.
In addition, the FDA does not require safety-testing on products before
they hit the market and limits its oversight to adequately monitor products
thereafter.
Over the years, chemicals linked to reproductive and developmental health
issues found in nail polish, hair and skin products have demonstrated
the need for new cosmetic regulations. The recent headline-grabbing
reports about the discovery and cover-up of asbestos-tainted talc represents yet
another demand for full transparency and disclosure of toxic ingredients
in products.
Although House and Senate members have introduced several bills over the
years, corporate lobbying efforts and glaring conflicts of interests in
industry trade groups have contributed to the current stalemate. Industry
groups continue to balk at the idea of adding warning labels to talc-based
products and have “pressured governmental agencies to refrain from
listing [talc] as a carcinogen.”
The New York Times’ Editorial Board recommends passage of a federal bill to “enable
the FDA to commission independent reviews of cosmetic ingredients and
recall tainted products and would require cosmetics companies to register
with the agency and report adverse events.”
The reckless approach to safety exercised by companies such as Johnson
& Johnson continues to breed consumer anxiety. We all deserve to know
what’s in our products so we can make informed decisions about whether
to use them. Congress needs to act and pass a mighty federal bill demanding
greater oversight to the existing unrestrained cosmetics industry.
Read the full
NYT report
here.