New graphic will help consumers make informed choices to protect their health
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a Federal
Register Notice seeking public input on a new insect repellent graphic
for skin-applied insect repellent product labels. The graphic, which may
be applied voluntarily by manufacturers, will provide consumers with
important health information including the estimated number of hours a product will repel potentially harmful insects, like mosquitoes and ticks, when used as directed.
“EPA
is working to create a system that does for bug repellents what SPF
labeling did for sunscreens,” said Jim Jones, assistant administrator of
the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “By providing
vital health information to consumers, this new graphic will help
parents, hikers and the general public better protect themselves from
serious health problems caused by mosquito and tick bites.”
Current
labeling of skin-applied insect repellent products does not allow
consumers to easily identify the insects repelled by a product and the
amount of time the product remains effective. Over the past four years,
EPA has held focus groups and worked with manufacturers and others to
create the new graphic, which will display consumer information in a
more prominent and standardized format. The graphic will only be placed
on insect repellent products that are applied directly to the skin.
Effective insect repellents can protect against serious mosquito and tick-borne diseases. In the United States, mosquitoes can transmit diseases
like St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile virus. Ticks can transmit
serious diseases like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and
Ehrlichiosis. Using the right insect repellent and taking other preventive actions can discourage bites from ticks, mosquitoes, and other biting insects.
Companies
will be able to request approval to use this graphic through the
Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) registration process.
View the FR Notice, graphic and additional information: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/
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