As the summer season kicks into gear, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) joined Health Center experts today to urge consumers to make smart decisions about sunscreen use. Effective this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is phasing in new requirements about sunscreen labeling requirements, and Blumenthal is leading efforts to ask the FDA to take additional measures to protect consumers.

“Consumers rely on labels to make critical decisions about how they protect themselves and their families, and this information must be accurate,” Blumenthal said.
Dr. Philip Kerr, a Health Center dermatologist, applauded Blumenthal for his leadership on this issue and noted that the FDA changes will eliminate misleading terms such as “sunblock” and “waterproof” on sunscreen labels. No product is 100 percent waterproof or can truly “block” the sun, he said.

“I tell patients to be aware of the ingredients in sunscreen as well as the SPF number,” he added, noting that there is still confusion about how to use sunscreen correctly.

“The new FDA regulations for sunscreens are an important public health event,” added Dr. Frank Torti, the Health Center’s executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the UConn School of Medicine. Earlier in his career, Torti served as acting commissioner of the FDA when the issue was first discussed. “It is gratifying to see these efforts come to fruition,” he added.

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