These pills sure are shady.
Sen. Chuck Schumer is urging the feds to pull from the market “sunscreen pills” that falsely claim to protect users from sunburns.
The Food and Drug Administration last month put out a warning against four companies they said illegally market the pills as offering sun protection — even though no such claims have been proved.
Schumer said the FDA move isn’t enough. He says the government should yank from stores pills sold by the four companies, which are marketed under the brands Sunsafe Rx, Solaricare, Sunergetic and Advanced Skin Brightening Formula.
The pills are approved for sale as dietary supplements, but have not been found to have the ability to protect against sunburns — which can lead to skin cancer.
“The FDA should be burning mad at the handful of companies marketing shady pills and capsules as a new alternative to long-tested SPF sun protection,” said Schumer (D-NY).
Without stronger action, consumers may be burned by wrongly assuming that swallowing some of the pills makes it safe to go outdoors without sunscreen, Schumer said.
“Failing to effectively rein in these marketing attempts would be a glaring error by the FDA, and so they must turn up the enforcement heat before consumers literally get burned,” the senator said. “While an agency warning is a good step, it might not be enough to force the necessary marketing changes that are still fueling summer sales.”
