Perceived Usefulness and Recall of Sunscreen Label Information by Consumers

Abstract

2019, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a proposed rule (84 FR 6204), an amendment to the Sunscreen Innovation Act of 2014, that would require listing active ingredients on the principal display panel of sunscreens to allow consumers to "more readily compare products and either select or avoid a given product accordingly." OBJECTIVE To understand consumers' perceived importance of active ingredients in sunscreen and their ability to recall these ingredients when comparing, avoiding, or selecting sunscreen products. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSIn this qualitative study, participants were recruited from Fors Marsh Group and User Works, Inc consumer panels and interviewed in person in November and December 2019. Eligible participants were 18 years or older, reported sunscreen use in the past 12 months, and were residents of the Washington, DC, area. After viewing 2 mock sunscreen labels (1 that meets current US Food and Drug Administration requirements and 1 designed to meet proposed requirements), participants were asked questions to assess their perceived importance of active ingredients in sunscreen products, whether they could recall any of the active ingredients on the labels, and whether they typically looked for active ingredients on a sunscreen label. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe main outcomes were the sunscreen label information used by participants to select a sunscreen and their ability to recall the active ingredients after viewing 2 mock sunscreen labels. RESULTSThe mean (SD) age of the 47 participants was 42.8 (13.6) years, 32 (68%) were women, and 40 (85%) had a bachelor's or graduate degree. Of the total, 13 (28%) participants stated that sunscreen ingredients influenced their sunscreen selection, but only 5 (11%) said it was the most important information. Instead, 34 (72%) participants stated that the sun protection factor rating was the most important information. After viewing the mock sunscreen labels, only 5 (11%) participants recalled any of the active ingredients, although 10 (21%) reported typically looking at active ingredients when choosing a sunscreen.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This qualitative study investigated the US Food and Drug Administration's proposed new rule requiring that active ingredients be listed on the front of sunscreen labels to facilitate product comparison for consumers. However, active ingredients were not reported to be a primary reason for consumers' sunscreen selection. Recall of active ingredients was low, and few consumers reported typically looking at the active ingredients, which were more commonly used to avoid ingredients rather than to select a sunscreen. Therefore, listing active ingredients on the front label alone may not have the intended usefulness for consumers.

Evaluating the USA population’s interest in sunscreen: a Google Trends analysis

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“…5 The significant increase in chemical sunscreen search, from May 2021 to July 2021, coincides with the period when benzene was identified in some sunscreen and suncare products. 6,7 These findings, along with controversies on environmental and health impacts of UV filters, may have shifted consumer interest in tinted and mineral sunscreens as an alternative for chemical sunscreens. As the photobiological effects of visible light (VL) become to be better understood and as tinted sunscreens are the only products available to protect against VL, it is plausible to hypothesize that the photoprotective effects against VL may also have contributed to the increased public interest in tinted sunscreen.…”

Visual Aids for Sunscreen Application: A mixed methods study

“…In this study, we examined the utility of image‐based and GIF‐based visual aids for the estimation of sunscreen quantity. This study was part of a larger study examining consumer interpretation of sunscreen labels 12 …”

The Important Role of Dermatologists in Public Education on Sunscreens

“…In this issue of JAMA Dermatology , Tribby and colleagues evaluate how the proposed revisions may affect labeling. The authors explore the usefulness of listing the active ingredients on the principal display panel and the ability of study participants to recall these ingredients when selecting sunscreen products.…”

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