MORNING-06
stylist to the stars and by selling his own line of shampoos and
conditioners.>
harmed by his line of products.>
ELAINE QUIJANO: Chaz Dean built a multi-million-dollar hair care empire by being a stylist to the stars and by selling his own line of shampoos and conditioners. But now hundreds of his customers are suing, claiming they were harmed by his line of products.
ANTHONY MASON: You might wonder why the public is able to buy seemingly unsafe products. As Jericka Duncan reports there`s not much the government can do to regulate them.
(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 get-- 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 commercial ad)
JERICKA DUNCAN: It has celebrity endorsements and boasts of stronger, fuller hair but not for Eliana, says her mom.
MIRIAM: 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 is no legal requirement that a company makes sure a product is safe before they sell it.
JERICKA DUNCAN: 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.
For CBS THIS MORNING: SATURDAY, Jericka Duncan, Washington.
(End VT)
ANTHONY MASON: I have to say I was really surprised the FDA didn`t have that power.
ELAINE QUIJANO: Yeah. It`s hard to believe. And you look a company like that where there are twenty-one thousand complaints.
ANTHONY MASON: Complaints.
ELAINE QUIJANO: I think a lot of people would be surprised by the fact that the FDA doesn`t have more power.
ANTHONY MASON: Yeah. All right.
Coming up, why Tony Bennett left more than his heart in San Francisco.
(Tony Bennett singing)
ANTHONY MASON: But, first, here`s a look at the weather for your weekend.
(LOCAL WEATHER BREAK)
ELAINE QUIJANO: Up next, medical news in our Morning Rounds, including why so many men refuse to talk about their health. Plus, Doctors Jon LaPook and Tara Narula on the right way to put a newborn to bed, what parents need to do to prevent sudden infant death syndrome. You`re watching CBS THIS MORNING: SATURDAY.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS
END
(Copy: Content and programming Copyright MMXVI CBS Broadcasting Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2016 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.)
