NEWS-08
powerless the Food and Drug Administration is when it comes to hazardous
cosmetic products.>
balding and rashes. Last month, the agency took the rare step of issuing a
safety alert after learning the company had received twenty-one thousand
complaints.>
SCOTT PELLEY: An article in the New York Times caught our attention about how powerless the Food and Drug Administration is when it comes to hazardous cosmetic products. Turns out, just because an ingredient is dangerous doesn`t mean it`s illegal. We asked Jericka Duncan to look into this.
(Begin VT)
JERICKA DUNCAN: These are pictures of eleven-year-old Eliana Lawrence two years ago.
ELIANA LAWRENCE: I was scared that I wasn`t going to get my hair back.
JERICKA DUNCAN: Her mother Miriam says Eliana went nearly bald after using a WEN by Chaz Dean hair care product.
(Excerpt from WEN ad)
JERICKA DUNCAN: It has celebrity endorsements and boasts of stronger, fuller hair. But not for Eliana, says her mom.
MIRIAM LAWRENCE: I noticed that her hairbrush was overflowing with hair.
JERICKA DUNCAN: The FDA began investigating the company after reports of hair loss, balding and rashes. Last month, the agency took the rare step of issuing a safety alert after learning the company had received twenty-one thousand complaints. The company tells CBS News it is cooperating, and its products are safe. "We have shared our formulations and ingredients with the FDA," it says, "We ... exceed the FDA`s requirements for cosmetic manufacturers and have always been transparent." The FDA disagrees, saying "...The company... did not address safety concerns related to hair loss. We do not know if the company has other safety data, and we do not have the legal authority to require a cosmetics firm to provide product safety information." No authority, because under a law that`s been in effect since 1938, the FDA has limited power to regulate the sixty-two billion dollar cosmetics industry.
TINA SIGURDSON: We`re talking baby wipes, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo.
JERICKA DUNCAN: Attorney Tina Sigurdson is with the Environmental Working Group.
TINA SIGURDSON: There`s no legal requirement that a company makes sure a product is safe before they sell it.
How is that possible?
TINA SIGURDSON: FDA has no access to safety records. They have no legal power to get those. Only-- only Congress can give them that power.
JERICKA DUNCAN: Meanwhile, WEN products remain on the shelves. The company says "The truth is that there are many reasons why people suffer from hair loss, but using WEN is not one of them." As for the Lawrences, they are now part of a class action lawsuit.
Jericka Duncan, CBS News, Washington.
(End VT)
SCOTT PELLEY: The gossip website Gawker is shutting down next week. The owners went bankrupt when a jury ordered them to pay former pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan one hundred and forty million dollars as punishment for posting a sex tape.
Up next, a bright star in Rio.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
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