Decades ago, the United States had a real problem with lead — particularly the lead found in house paint, which was found to cause a wide variety of serious health issues. But after rectifying the lead paint problem all those years ago, lead poisoning seemed to be a disease from the Victorian age, with no relevance in the 21st century.
But with the recent discovery of lead-based paint in toys produced in China, there is a renewed interest in lead. For example, an American advocacy group is reporting that many worldwide lipstick brands contain dangerous levels of lead, including cover girl, L’Oreal, and other cosmetic giants.
In fact, of 33 lipstick brands tested, 20 had unsafe quantities of lead, according to the advocacy group, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. The levels of lead found in the lipstick ranged from .03 ppm to .65 ppm. Long-term exposure to lead has the potential to raise blood pressure, induce kidney damage and a loss of mental function, among other dangerous effects.
Accordingly, the US food and drug administration is taking the new charges seriously. The FDA is currently collecting lipstick samples for testing as a follow-up on the advocacy group’s results. The FDA is quick to point out, however, that lipsticks have been tested in the past, and have shown no dangerous levels of lead thus far. Nevertheless, the new charges are being taken seriously, and the FDA has initiated a full investigation.
The US is the world’s largest market for lipstick, with total sales exceeding $2 billion in 2006. But with such a huge market, the potential for disaster is also present. If the FDA is able to confirm the high levels of lead, it would mean that millions of American women have been put needlessly at risk by the cosmetics companies. One can almost smell the lawsuits beginning to brew…
A spokesman for cosmetics manufacturers in the United States has responded to the charges, saying that the amounts of lead contained in their products were nowhere near enough to pose a potential danger. But as always in these matters, the FDA will have the final word. Should the FDA’s investigation confirm the excessive amounts of lead in lipsticks, the economic and legal ramifications could be huge.
Cosmetics industry lobbyists in Washington are already at work attempting to minimize the public-relations damage caused by this latest report, and downplay any significant health risks associated with their products. With a $2 billion US market at stake, you can be sure that the lead-lipstick scandal will be tying up the US court system for years to come.
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First, kids dying from lead in toys. Now, they find high levels of lead in lipsticks. What’s next - lead in food? Are women going to start dying now too from using lipstick too much?
Freaky!
Comment by myproductalert — November 13, 2007 @ 9:01 am