A s we’re all diligently slathering on sunscreen to prevent cancer, out comes a new report suggesting that ingredients in many brands -- including the most popular ones -- may actually raise cancer risk, and that’s not the only health problem associated with them. It isn’t just a single common ingredient that new research has raised some concerns about -- it’s far worse than that. Many widely available sunscreens contain potentially dangerous ingredients... provide inadequate protection... and are portrayed by their marketers as far more helpful than they actually are. The list of offenders includes leading brands that you know and trust and even some products designed just for babies.

When the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org) issued its 2010 guide to the best and worst sunscreens, the nonprofit watchdog gave its OK to just 39 products -- which amounts to a mere 8% of the 500 sunscreens evaluated! When I saw this newest report, I immediately placed a call to EWG research analyst Nneka Leiba, MPH, to find out what’s going on and to see what she thinks we all should know about our sunscreens.

According to Leiba, the FDA bears some serious responsibility for this problem -- she said that the agency has had no mandatory regulations for sunscreens or their ingredients. (Regulations may be in place by October 2010, according to the most recent official estimate.) Companies have not been required to verify that sunscreens work... to test that their sun protection factor (SPF) levels are accurate... or to show that other claims, such as whether they are waterproof or protect against UVA rays, hold up.