Burning Debate on Foundation’s Sunscreen Role

A nonprofit outfit named the Skin Cancer Foundation has the sunscreen business sealed up.

Take a look at any sunscreen container; chances are it bears the foundation’s “seal of recommendation.” The foundation president, Dr. Perry Robins, said the seal “lets the public know the sunscreen works.”

To critics, the seal smacks more of marketing than medicine. The foundation charges corporations $10,000 for it. And a good chunk of the money goes to New York University Medical Center, where Robins is employed.

There are good sunscreens that lack a seal; Johnson & Johnson refused to buy one. Moreover, the foundation endorses sunscreens for babies and lotions with high sun protection factors--products that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration frowns on.

The seal “is a lot of baloney,” said Dr. Ronald Moy, an assistant dermatology professor at UCLA Medical Center who treats many skin cancer patients. Moy says sunscreens without the seal “all work fine.”

The seal has become more widely used as concerns about skin cancer have grown; overexposure to the sun is a leading cause of the disease. Companies that once sold “savage tans” tout “safe tans” or no tans at all.

Four years ago, former Schering-Plough spokeswoman Joanne Brown mocked the seal in an interview. “It doesn’t have much meaning,” she said at the time. “Why should we pay for it?” Today, the company embraces the seal.

This summer, store shelves are brimming with lotions, creams, sprays and gels with the foundation’s seal. It endorses a whopping 112 sunscreens made by 17 of the nation’s largest sun-care firms. The roster includes such brands as Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic and Bain de Soleil, and an assortment of “baby blocks,” “kids’ screens” and “defense lotions.”

Manufacturers like the seal because they believe that it sways consumers who are worried about skin cancer.

“It creates the perception that we care about (sun) protection,” said Schering spokesman Doug Petkus. Schering turns out one-quarter of the nation’s sunscreens under the Coppertone, Shade and Water Babies brands. “We’re willing to pay . . . to have it.”

Robins contends that the seal is more than a marketing tool. He said it is needed because the FDA doesn’t monitor sunscreens closely enough. The FDA checks into complaints but does no product testing.

The Skin Cancer Foundation isn’t much of a watchdog, though. It doesn’t test any sunscreens, either. It merely reviews test results submitted by manufacturers.

Robins said the foundation approves a sunscreen only if the data shows that the product is “safe, nontoxic and effective’ and has a sun-protection factor of at least 15. He admits that the review system isn’t foolproof; a company could turn in faked results, pay $10,000 and get a seal. “I don’t think anyone would do that,” he said.

Some products the foundation endorses have come under FDA scrutiny. The agency is working on rules that would ban products with sun-protection factors over 30; the Skin Cancer Foundation endorses products with ratings as high as 46.

Also, the FDA wants to restrict sun blocks for babies because it fears that “baby blocks” lull parents into thinking its safe to put their children in the sun. Schering, Cheesebrough-Pond, Estee Lauder and Tanning Research Labs market “baby blocks;” each has the Skin Cancer Foundation seal.

Except for its seal program, the Skin Cancer Foundation has a pretty low profile. With a budget last year of $1.5 million, it is small compared to other cancer-related charities. The American Cancer Society last year took in a whopping $347.2 million.

The organization depends on corporate donations to keep it going; last year, corporations kicked in one-third of its $1.3-million operating budget. Besides funding educational programs, the foundation also hands out research grants. Last year, 40% of its grant money supported fellowships at New York University School of Medicine, where Robins is an associate professor of dermatology.

Companies that contribute are on its corporate council; its honorary chairman is the tanned-and-rested-looking actor, Tom Selleck. (“His doctor was on the board of this group and asked if Tom would lend his name,” said his publicist. “He’s not active; he’s not involved.”)

Robins said the foundation charges for the seal because it needs the money; the foundation is quick to yank the seal when the funds don’t come in. It is unsealing Piz Buin, a European sunscreen that got a seal before it was acquired by Johnson & Johnson.

“We heard through the grapevine that they don’t want to pay,” said Madhu A. Pathuk, a Harvard Medical School photo-biologist who examines seal applications. “No fee, no seal.”

A Johnson & Johnson spokesman said only that the foundation’s seal program “is something we chose not to participate in.”

Pathuk acknowledged that “many very good products” don’t have the seal. Take Herbert Laboratories’ Photoplex. It is one of only two sunscreens approved by the FDA; unlike older products, Photoplex needed approval because it uses a new skin-blocking chemical. Photoplex didn’t seek a seal, said spokeswoman Stacy Howmann. “It isn’t worth the cost,” she said.

SPECIALIZING IN THE SUN

With escalating concern about the sun’s unhealthy effects, the sunscreen business is booming. In 1990, sunscreen was a $375 million industry, in wholesale dollar. The following companies are the major players. Coppertone: 18.7% Hawaiian Tropic: 9.3% Sundown: 7.7% Bain de Soleil: 7.7% Banana Boat: 6.7% Avon Suncare: 4.8% Este Lauder: 4.8% Shade: 4.3% Water Babies: 3.7% Vaseline: 3.5% Presun: 3.2%

Source: Kline & Co.

Understanding Sun Protection Factor

* What it is: A lotion’s sun protection factor, or SPF, is the product’s ability to block ultraviolet radiation. SPF numbers range from 2 to 50.

* How it works: For a person with fair skin, who would start to burn in 20 minutes without protection, a sunscreen with SPF 4 would give 80 minutes (20 minutes multiplied by 4) of protection before starting to burn; SPF 15 would give this person 300 minutes--5 hours--of protection.

Other sunburn factors:

* Altitude: You will burn faster at 5,000 feet than at sea level.

* Latitude: Radiation is more intense closer to the Equator.

* Reflective surfaces: Water, snow, sand, even concrete increase burning.

* Cloud cover: Clouds reflect and intensify the sun’s radiation.

* Time of day: The sun is most intense between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

* Medicine: Sun sensitivity is increased by certain drugs.

Source: Skin Cancer Foundation