[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2658 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2658

To provide that the Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall by regulation 
    require over the counter drug sunscreen products to include an 
      expiration date and storage recommendations on their label.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 1999

 Mr. Crowley (for himself, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. McNulty, Ms. 
  McKinney, Mr. McGovern, and Ms. Lee) introduced the following bill; 
            which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide that the Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall by regulation 
    require over the counter drug sunscreen products to include an 
      expiration date and storage recommendations on their label.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safe Sunscreen, Healthy Skin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the American Cancer Society, over 800,000 
        new skin cancer cases of highly curable basal cell or squamous 
        cell cancers are diagnosed per year.
            (2) In 1995, over 34,100 persons were diagnosed with 
        melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. Since 1973, the 
        incidence rate of melanoma has increased about 4 percent per 
        year. An additional 16,000 invasive nonmelanoma skin cancer 
        cases occurred in 1995, mostly sarcomas, including Kaposi's 
        sarcoma.
            (3) Approximately 9,300 deaths occurred in 1995, 7,200 from 
        malignant melanoma and 2,100 due to other skin cancers. 
        According to the American Cancer Society's ``Cancer Facts & 
        Figures--1995'' the best ways to prevent skin cancer are as 
        follows: ``The sun's ultraviolet rays are the strongest between 
        10 a.m. and 3 p.m., exposure at these times should be avoided, 
        and protective clothing should be worn.''
            (4) Because of the possible link between severe sunburns in 
        childhood and greatly increased risk of melanoma in later life, 
        children, in particular, should be protected from the sun.
            (5) Considering that half of all new cancers are skin 
        cancers, malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, 
        will claim over 7,300 lives this year, 1,200 people will die 
        from other forms of skin cancer, and an estimated 1,000,000 new 
        cases of skin cancer were diagnosed in the United States in 
        1996, this Act takes on a special urgency.
            (6) Sunscreen products have an effectiveness life of 3 to 5 
        years. In light of how important these products are in 
        combating skin cancer, it is appropriate that the consumer know 
        that sunscreen is not protective against the sun's rays after a 
        certain point. This especially becomes true with children's 
        sunscreen, as young people tend to be more severely burned and 
        are in greater danger than adults.

SEC. 3. LABELING.

    (a) Expiration Date and Storage Recommendations.--The Commissioner 
of Food and Drugs shall require over the counter drug sunscreen 
products which are designed to screen the ultra violet rays of the sun 
on individuals who use the products to include on the label of the 
products a date beyond which the product is not an effective screen of 
such rays and recommendations for the storage of the products to avoid 
reducing the effectiveness of the products.
    (b) Enforcement.--For purposes of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act, an over the counter drug sunscreen product which does not 
contain the date and storage recommendations required by regulations 
under subsection (a) shall be considered to be a misbranded drug.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on the first day of January next 
succeeding the date of its enactment.
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