[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2132 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2132

To require the Food and Drug Administration to finalize a standard for 
    broad-spectrum protection in sunscreen products, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 3, 2011

Mrs. Lowey (for herself and Mr. Israel) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Food and Drug Administration to finalize a standard for 
    broad-spectrum protection in sunscreen products, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Skin Cancer Prevention, Education, 
and Consumer Right-To-Know Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Skin cancer is a growing epidemic in the United States 
        with more than 1,000,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
            (2) About 10,000 Americans die each year from skin cancer.
            (3) The most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma, has 
        tripled among Caucasians since 1980.
            (4) One in five Americans and one in three Caucasians will 
        develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
            (5) A person's risk for skin cancer doubles if he or she 
        has had five or more sunburns.
            (6) More than 90 percent of all skin cancers are caused by 
        sun exposure, yet fewer than 33 percent of adults, adolescents, 
        and children routinely use sun protection.
            (7) Most skin cancer is caused by prolonged exposure to the 
        ultraviolet rays from the sun. This invisible radiation is 
        classified as UVA radiation and UVB radiation.
            (8) UVB radiation is the chief cause of sunburn and skin 
        cancer.
            (9) UVA radiation is more constant, year-round, and 
        penetrates the skin more deeply, causing both premature aging 
        and skin cancer.
            (10) Current United States sunscreen standards set by the 
        Food and Drug Administration (FDA) require protection from UVB 
        radiation but not UVA radiation.
            (11) The current United States sunscreen standards provide 
        a false sense of security to Americans, since their sunscreen 
        is protecting successfully against sunburn, but not adequately 
        against other forms of skin damage, including skin cancers. 
        Consumers may wrongly believe that their sunscreen is 
        sufficiently protecting them and therefore stay in the sun 
        longer.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR RULE RELATING TO SUNSCREEN DRUG PRODUCTS FOR 
              OVER-THE-COUNTER HUMAN USE.

    Notwithstanding subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 
5, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Administrative Procedure 
Act'') and any other provision of law, the proposed rule issued by the 
Commissioner of Food and Drugs entitled ``Sunscreen Drug Products for 
Over-the-Counter Human Use; Proposed Amendment of Final Monograph'', 72 
Fed. Reg. 49070 (August 27, 2007), shall take effect on the date that 
is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, unless such 
Commissioner issues the final rule, which includes formulation, 
labeling, and testing requirements for both ultraviolet B (UVB) and 
ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation protection, before such effective date.

SEC. 4. EDUCATION.

    (a) Education.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
implement a general, nationwide education campaign identifying the 
risks posed by sun exposure without the use of a sunscreen providing 
broad-spectrum protection.
    (b) Contents.--The education campaign under this section shall be 
designed to increase the level of knowledge and awareness among the 
general public of the causes of skin cancer, the risks posed by 
unprotected sun exposure, the respective roles of ultraviolet B (UVB) 
and ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation in the development of skin cancer, 
the effective application of sunscreen, and the promulgation under 
section 3 of the standard requiring broad-spectrum protection in 
sunscreen products.
    (c) Duration.--The education campaign under this section shall be 
implemented for not less than one year.
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