US Sunscreens Don’t Work Well
It is more likely that people will have sun damage to their skin than was true several decades ago. It is a byproduct of global warming. Some sunscreens are more effective than others. American products are not good.
According to The Guardian, “While American sunscreens generally do a good job at blocking UVB rays, which cause sunburn, experts and studies have noted in recent years that they often provide weaker protection against ultraviolet radiation in the form of UVA rays, compared to products available in places like Europe and South Korea.” For some reason, these aren’t imported into the US.
The Guardian states that inferior US sunscreens are due to regulatory issues. Dermatologist Adewole Adamson told NPR, “It’s that some of the chemical sunscreens aren’t as broad spectrum as they could be, meaning they do not block UVA as well. This could be alleviated by the FDA allowing new ingredients.”
The problem is not unusual. There are drugs approved for use in other countries that aren’t approved in the US. Often, US regulators believe that they are more dangerous or have side effects that they don’t think are worth the risk compared to the reward.
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