Ecobreves – CHILE: Warning: Fake Sunscreens

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

SANTIAGO, Jan 26 2004 (IPS) - Chile's Institute of Public Health (ISP) has appealed to consumers to help detect sunscreen lotions sold in the capital that do not meet skin protection requirements. Guido Girardi, legislator of the governing Party for Democracy, denounced on Jan. 20 that several sunscreens on the market are of known brands, but because they do not bear the ISP seal their effectiveness cannot be guaranteed.

“Sunblocks are practically a medication. People can expose themselves to sunburn or skin cancer if they use a falsified product,” he said.

Sunscreen use is widespread in Chile during the summer, because its geographic location means the country is subject to stronger ultraviolet rays.