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Psst! This Stuff Keeps You Young, but It's Illegal
NY Times ^ | June 9, 2005 | LAUREL NAVERSEN GERAGHTY

Posted on 06/10/2005 5:40:05 PM PDT by neverdem

MEXORYL is not the most notorious drug on the black market. Only a few insiders, most of them women, even know its worth, let alone where to buy it. But it is one of the most ordinary substances ever to be bootlegged. Mexoryl SX, made by the Paris-based skin-care giant L'Oréal, is an illegal sunscreen in this country, one that is thought to be particularly useful in preventing wrinkles.

Called by dermatologists one of the most effective filters of all wavelengths of ultraviolet light, Mexoryl has been used in sunscreen lotions sold in Canada and Europe for more than a decade. But the Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved it.

The reason for the delay is difficult to discern, because the F.D.A. does not comment on drugs going through its sometimes lengthy approval process. Dr. Darrell S. Rigel, a dermatologist at New York University, however, said safety is not an issue. "It's just bureaucracy," he said.

And so the cognoscenti ask for Ombrelle Extreme ($11), Garnier's Ambre Solaire ($24) or the particularly coveted Anthélios XL by La Roche-Posay ($40 and more for a relatively small tube) at certain drug stores - like Zitomer and Cambridge Chemists on Manhattan's Upper East Side - or order it online from Canadian or French pharmacies or even on eBay. Though the F.D.A. does not track down and prosecute those consumers, the purchases are technically illegal.

When asked about the decision to sell the unapproved sunscreens, representatives of both Zitomer and Cambridge Chemists declined to comment.

"I started buying it from Canada," one 46-year-old New Yorker said about Anthélios, which she has used for three years. (She insisted that her name not be published because she did not want it publicly connected with illegal purchases.) The Canadian pharmacy Web site feelbest.com sells a...

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Canada; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; Technical; US: District of Columbia; US: Maryland
KEYWORDS: diabetes; fda; health; medicine; mexoryl; sunscreen; tio2; titaniumdioxide; ultravioletradiation
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To: who knows what evil?
The article points out that it's not the UVB (which sunscreen's protect against), it's the UVA that causes skin to wrinkle and prematurely age. UVA is present sunup to sundown, 365, regardless of climate - even during blizzards. This UVA is what this illegal sunscreen protects against.
21 posted on 06/10/2005 6:56:41 PM PDT by WIladyconservative (Be an active member of the pajamahadeen - set up a monthly donation to FR!!)
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To: neverdem

bump


22 posted on 06/10/2005 8:18:19 PM PDT by parisa
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To: neverdem
Mexoryl SX, made by the Paris-based skin-care giant L'Oréal, is an illegal sunscreen in this country, one that is thought to be particularly useful in preventing wrinkles.

I live in Washington State.

I vaguely recall that there is something called a "sun" but I don't remember what it is or why you need to be screened from it.

23 posted on 06/10/2005 8:25:02 PM PDT by Polybius
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To: Abram; AlexandriaDuke; Annie03; Baby Bear; bassmaner; Bernard; BJClinton; BlackbirdSST; ...
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

So the war on some drugs is effecting sunnscreen now interesting.

24 posted on 06/10/2005 8:39:42 PM PDT by freepatriot32 (www.lp.org)
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To: neverdem

bump for a later read


25 posted on 06/10/2005 8:49:16 PM PDT by technochick99 (Self defense is a basic human right ; Sig Sauer is my equalizer)
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To: bluefish
the primary function of the FDA is to protect the American pharmaceutical industry

Of course! And THAT's why it always is that the dirtiest politicians and the wealthiest companies in the regulated industry always "capture" GOVERNMENT (read: political) regulatory agencies. In fact, if you check out the FDA's board of directors, it's almost all ex-officers of the pharmaceutical industry. They even set the bar for approving new drugs so high that ONLY the multi-billion dollar giants can afford to get the approvals (and guess what? they get to buy out all the small drug entrepreneurs and labs -- and even cosmetic companies! -- on the cheap if they ever come up with something good).

That's why we need to replace the FDA with a UL-type PRIVATE regulator. I used to have to meet UL specs for electrical components and, UNLIKE the FDA, are extremely tough, fair, unbribable and UNpressurable.

Check out http://freedomkeys.com/complex.htm

26 posted on 06/10/2005 9:15:24 PM PDT by FreeKeys (If all the illegals are willing to get registered as "guest workers" LET THEM: THEN we can FIND 'em!)
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To: neverdem

Thank you for this article, I am a redhead and have horrible problems with the sun. I am going to go over to Canada tomorrow and stock up.


27 posted on 06/10/2005 9:31:24 PM PDT by Hillary's Lovely Legs (This post wasn't cleared by the Fresno Mafia, so I expect a personal attack any moment.)
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To: neverdem

read later


28 posted on 06/10/2005 10:54:09 PM PDT by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
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To: bitt

zinc oxide........that's the white butt medicine for babies' diaper rash. We use it for our horses who burn easily. 'Course, the horses sneeze and snort, they just DON'T like the smell.


29 posted on 06/10/2005 11:04:12 PM PDT by mommadooo3
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