Sunscreen claims, risk management and consumer confidence

This essay is a personal reflection on how the concept of risk is impacting on the development of sunscreen products and claims, and whether these developments are jeopardizing consumer confidence. In order to estimate the risk of harm, we need not only to identify a hazard but, as importantly, determine the degree of exposure to the hazard and understand the health of impact of consequent exposure. A practice by many manufacturers is simply to market a product that claims to be protective against a hazard with little, or no, regard to exposure or consequence. The inherent danger with this approach is to undermine trust in product efficacy and in so doing to put at risk consumer confidence in both product and manufacturer. An example of this approach using infrared radiation as the hazard will be discussed.