Department of Geography, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Health Behaviors Research Branch, Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.
JAMA Dermatol. 2021 May 1;157(5):573-576. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.5394.
In February 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a proposed rule (84 FR 6204), an amendment to the Sunscreen Innovation Act of 2014, that would require listing active ingredients on the principal display panel of sunscreens to allow consumers to "more readily compare products and either select or avoid a given product accordingly."
To understand consumers' perceived importance of active ingredients in sunscreen and their ability to recall these ingredients when comparing, avoiding, or selecting sunscreen products.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this qualitative study, participants were recruited from Fors Marsh Group and User Works, Inc consumer panels and interviewed in person in November and December 2019. Eligible participants were 18 years or older, reported sunscreen use in the past 12 months, and were residents of the Washington, DC, area. After viewing 2 mock sunscreen labels (1 that meets current US Food and Drug Administration requirements and 1 designed to meet proposed requirements), participants were asked questions to assess their perceived importance of active ingredients in sunscreen products, whether they could recall any of the active ingredients on the labels, and whether they typically looked for active ingredients on a sunscreen label.
The main outcomes were the sunscreen label information used by participants to select a sunscreen and their ability to recall the active ingredients after viewing 2 mock sunscreen labels.
The mean (SD) age of the 47 participants was 42.8 (13.6) years, 32 (68%) were women, and 40 (85%) had a bachelor's or graduate degree. Of the total, 13 (28%) participants stated that sunscreen ingredients influenced their sunscreen selection, but only 5 (11%) said it was the most important information. Instead, 34 (72%) participants stated that the sun protection factor rating was the most important information. After viewing the mock sunscreen labels, only 5 (11%) participants recalled any of the active ingredients, although 10 (21%) reported typically looking at active ingredients when choosing a sunscreen.
This qualitative study investigated the US Food and Drug Administration's proposed new rule requiring that active ingredients be listed on the front of sunscreen labels to facilitate product comparison for consumers. However, active ingredients were not reported to be a primary reason for consumers' sunscreen selection. Recall of active ingredients was low, and few consumers reported typically looking at the active ingredients, which were more commonly used to avoid ingredients rather than to select a sunscreen. Therefore, listing active ingredients on the front label alone may not have the intended usefulness for consumers.
2019 年 2 月，美国食品和药物管理局发布了一项拟议规则（84 FR 6204），对 2014 年《防晒创新法案》进行了修订，该规则将要求在防晒霜的主要展示面板上列出活性成分，以使消费者“更易于比较产品，并相应地选择或避免特定产品”。
了解消费者对防晒霜中活性成分的认知重要性，以及他们在比较、避免或选择防晒霜产品时回忆这些成分的能力。
设计、设置和参与者：在这项定性研究中，参与者是从 Fors Marsh Group 和 User Works，Inc 的消费者小组中招募的，并于 2019 年 11 月和 12 月进行了面对面访谈。合格的参与者年龄在 18 岁或以上，报告在过去 12 个月中使用过防晒霜，并且是华盛顿特区的居民。在观看了 2 个模拟防晒霜标签（1 个符合当前美国食品和药物管理局的要求，1 个设计用于满足拟议的要求）后，参与者被问及一些问题，以评估他们对防晒霜产品中活性成分的认知重要性、他们是否能够回忆起标签上的任何活性成分，以及他们是否通常会在防晒霜标签上寻找活性成分。
主要结果是参与者用来选择防晒霜的防晒霜标签信息，以及他们在观看了 2 个模拟防晒霜标签后回忆活性成分的能力。
47 名参与者的平均（SD）年龄为 42.8（13.6）岁，32 名（68%）为女性，40 名（85%）拥有学士学位或研究生学位。在这些参与者中，有 13 名（28%）表示防晒霜成分会影响他们的防晒霜选择，但只有 5 名（11%）表示这是最重要的信息。相反，34 名（72%）参与者表示防晒系数评级是最重要的信息。在观看了模拟防晒霜标签后，只有 5 名（11%）参与者回忆起了任何活性成分，尽管 10 名（21%）参与者表示通常在选择防晒霜时会查看活性成分。
这项定性研究调查了美国食品和药物管理局提出的新规则，要求在防晒霜标签的正面列出活性成分，以方便消费者进行产品比较。然而，活性成分并不是消费者选择防晒霜的主要原因。对活性成分的回忆率很低，很少有消费者表示通常会查看活性成分，而这些成分更常用于避免成分而不是选择防晒霜。因此，仅在正面标签上列出活性成分可能对消费者没有预期的作用。
