Cancer leagues urge MEPs to reject weaker cosmetic safety rules
MEPs are being asked to maintain existing safeguards in the Cosmetic Products Regulation, warning that proposed changes could undermine Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
In a letter to MEPs on the European Parliament’s consumer protection and environment committees, the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) is calling on the European Parliament to uphold strong safeguards against cancer -causing substances in cosmetics.
As part of efforts to simplify EU legislation, the European Commission has proposed changes to the EU Cosmetics Regulation as part of its “Chemicals Omnibus”. The letter comes ahead of two key votes in a joint committee scheduled for tomorrow (15 April).
A step backwards
“Lowering the level of protection would not only increase the risk of cumulative exposure to carcinogens, but it would also contradict the EU’s strong commitments under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan - a blueprint for stronger laws and policies to protect people’s health and prevent cancer,” writes Executive Director at the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL), Dr Wolfgang Fecke.
“Over the last years, the European Parliament has consistently demonstrated an ambitious stance in the fight against cancer. Any move to relax the current restrictions on cancer-causing chemicals in cosmetics would be a significant step backwards in safeguarding public health.”
ECL says the changes would significantly weaken existing protections against chemicals that cause cancer under the regulation, which governs their use in a wide range of everyday personal care products such as soap, makeup and toothpaste.
The letter, addressed to members of the European Parliament’s Committees on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety and the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, urges MEPs to protect citizens from avoidable exposure to carcinogenic substances.
The changes to the Cosmetic Products Regulation (CPR) are part of the ‘Chemicals Omnibus’. ECL says that since 1999, the regulation has provided a precautionary framework that effectively prohibits the use of carcinogens, mutagens and substances toxic to reproduction (CMRs) in cosmetic products, with a strict system for derogations.
ECL urges MEPs to uphold the existing level of protection against carcinogens in cosmetic products, maintain the current prohibitions without introducing distinctions between exposure routes, and avoid any extensions of transition times for products containing newly identified carcinogens, reaffirming the EU’s precautionary approach.
“Protecting citizens from avoidable exposure to carcinogenic substances must remain a non-negotiable priority,” said Fecke.