PASS Coalition Urges Immediate Action to Fight Skin Cancer

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The Public Access to Sun Screens (PASS) Coalition was formed in the United States in 2013 as a multi-stakeholder coalition of public health organizations, dermatologists, sunscreen ingredient and finished goods manufacturers, and concerned citizens.

Currently, the PASS Coalition is continuing implementation efforts on many levels, and is now petitioning the U.S. president to act immediately to fight skin cancer. The PASS Coalition believes everyone must work together to put an end to unnecessary new cases of skin cancer by making sure Americans have access to the latest sunscreens.

The goal of this petition is to reach 100,000 signatures by June 21, 2015, which will ultimately lead to the higher level of attention from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and help with the implementation of the Sunscreen Innovation Act (SIA).

The coalition successfully collaborated with the FDA, Congress and the White House to establish a timely and transparent framework for approving the next generation of UV active filters for over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreens. On Nov. 27, 2014 the U.S. president signed the bipartisan SIA, which passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate. This Act requires the FDA to quickly respond to pending Time and Extent Applications (TEAs) for sunscreens. The Hill newspaper named SIA as one of the top lobbying victories of 2014.

However, more than six months after the SIA was signed, none of the pending TEAs actives have been approved.

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