The Food and Drug Administration is ready to kill a proposed rule that would require testing for toxic asbestos in talc-based cosmetics, a problem that has been linked to cancer.
Talc is widely used, including in cosmetics, food, medicine and personal care products. The order was signed by the Minister of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr.leader of the Make America Healthy Again movement (Maha).
A stated cornerstone of the movement that helped bring Donald Trump to power is helping to eliminate toxins such as asbestos from food, medicine and personal care products. The move shocked health activists
“Nothing can make America less healthy than the presence of cancer-causing products in cosmetics,” said Scott Faber, vice president of government relations for the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that lobbies for stricter regulations on talc. “It’s hard to understand why we’re eliminating a rule that simply requires companies to test for asbestos.”
The FDA didn't publish a press release immediately announced the move and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a legal notice published in the federal register, the agency wrote that the decision was made in response to comments it received about potential “unintended consequences” for drug companies, suggesting drugmakers were opposed to the testing.
“At this time, there is compelling reason to rescind the proposed rule,” the notice states.
Asbestos is a group of six naturally occurring fibrous minerals used to make products resistant to heat, fire and electricity. No exposure level is considered safe and is prohibited. in more than 50 countries. The substance is a known human carcinogen. associated with about 40,000 deaths annually.
Cosmetic companies have famous Since the 1950s, Faber said, talc may have been contaminated with asbestos, but the public was not warned in the early 1970s. Despite this, the industry has persuaded the FDA to allow companies to rely on testing methods that can detect some, but not all, asbestos fibers.
Asbestos contamination was regularly found in some talc-based cosmetics, including baby powder, which was used disproportionately by black women. Personal care giant Johnson & Johnson Sales of talc-based baby powder stopped in the US in 2020 amid growing public pressure and nearly 38,000 lawsuits.
The company has so far paid out billions of dollars in damages and offered another $6.5 billion in settlements in a class action lawsuit alleging it knowingly poisoned consumers. About 3,000 women in Britain filed a case in the country's Supreme Court last month alleging Johnson & Johnson poisoned them.
Despite its high toxicity, obvious dangers and widespread use, its regulation has proven to be a complex process. The US Environmental Protection Agency's initial ban on its use in most products in 1989 was quickly lifted. upside down court, and attempts to introduce similar bans have failed for decades.
Joe Biden's Environmental Protection Agency has proposed V the treaty was finalized late last year, but the Trump administration attempted to revoke it even before change of course in July.
The Cosmetic Modernization Act of 2022 included provisions requiring testing of talc-based cosmetics. The Biden administration has begun enforcing this rule, but Trump administration now ready to kill him.
In its notice, the FDA said it was acting in accordance with Maha's priorities in a complex area: “We are rescinding the proposed rule to reconsider the best ways to address the issues covered by the proposed rule and broader principles for reducing asbestos exposure, and to ensure that any standardized test method requirements for detecting asbestos in talc-containing cosmetic products help protect users of talc-containing cosmetic products from the harmful effects of asbestos.”
Referring to RFK Jr., Faber said, “It's tragic that a man who spent most of his career protecting people from cancer would do this.”
