Study: Oxybenzone May Have Role In Coral Reef Declines

The Environmental Working Group, already no fan of oxybenzone due to its suspected human endocrine-disrupting properties, likely will be giving products containing the UV filter even lower marks in its Sunscreen Guide next year following research showing the ingredient to have destructive effects on sea coral. A study published Oct. 20 in the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology examined oxybenzone's impact on coral larvae and its toxicity to coral cells and observed various adverse health effects, including "transform[ing] planulae from a motile state to a deformed, sessile condition" and "encasing the entire planula in its own skeleton." Determining the chemical genotoxic, endocrine-disrupting, a coral-bleaching inducer and potentially toxic at 62 parts per trillion – "equivalent to a drop of water in six and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools" – investigators conclude that "oxybenzone poses a hazard to coral reef conservation and threatens the resiliency of coral reefs to climate change." The research was led by Craig Downs, executive director of the nonprofit Haereticus Environmental Laboratory in Clifford, Va.

The Personal Care Products Council's Senior Environmental Scientist Iain Davies notes in an Oct. 23 statement that the study's conclusions stem from research conducted under laboratory conditions, "which do not accurately reflect the complexity of the natural marine environment." He adds: "There is no scientific evidence that under naturally occurring conditions, sunscreen ingredients, which have been safely used around the world for decades, are contributing to this issue," as opposed to global climate change, unsustainable fishing and other factors. The trade group says its chief concern is that the study will discourage sunscreen use amid a global skin-cancer epidemic and notes that oxybenzone is "one of the few available sunscreen ingredients that effectively protect skin from both UVA and UVB rays that can contribute to skin cancer and premature skin aging."

TINA.org Alerts FTC To Jeunesse Global Claims

Truth in Advertising (TINA.org) dispatched letters Oct. 19 to the Federal Trade Commission and Florida Attorney General, urging them to look into the product claims and business practices of Jeunesse Global, LLC, the multi-level marketing company behind the Luminesce skin-care line and larger Youth Enhancement System, which also includes dietary supplements. According to the nonprofit, the Altamonte Springs, Florida-based firm and its distributors are using unsubstantiated health and treatment claims to sell products, including statements about curing cancer and claims that products "can manipulate human genes and cells to slow the aging process." Other issues include use of alleged before-and-after photographs that are actually stock images, TINA.org says, as well as deceptive income claims suggesting that consumers who become distributors stand to make more than $26,000 per week and millions of dollars each year. The organization encourages the FTC and Florida AG to investigate and take prompt enforcement action as needed.

In Brief: Anti-Coral Oxybenzone? Truth In Advertising Goes After Jeunesse

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