New FDA Regulations Are Long Overdue.

• Position: SUNSCREENS

"U.S. sunscreens will not sufficiently improve until the Food and Drug Administration sets stronger regulations, restricts the use of harmful chemicals, and approves new active ingredients that offer stronger UVA and UVB protection without concern of causing harm," says Nneka Leiba, former vice president of Healthy Living Science for the Environmental Working Group, Washington, D.C.

EWG has released its 15th annual Guide to Sunscreens in which it rates the safety and efficacy of more than 1,800 products that advertise sun protection--including recreational sunscreens, daily-use SPF products, and lip balms with SPF--and found that only 25% of the products reviewed offer adequate protection and do not contain worrisome ingredients like oxybenzone, a potential hormone-disrupting chemical that is readily absorbed by the body.

The best-scoring recreational sunscreens on EWG's list contain the mineral-based active ingredients zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, or both, since they have fewer health concerns and offer good sun protection. Zinc oxide especially provides good broad-spectrum protection and is effective against both UVA and UVB rays, and it is stable in the sun.

According to the National Cancer Institute, the rate of new melanoma cases among American adults...