BY DR. DAYANATH JAYASURIYA P. C.

According to a recent global survey by D. Petruzzi released on 3 September 2024, “the cosmetics industry shows no signs of stopping: as self-care and wellness become more important to consumers worldwide, this market keeps on thriving. Despite a small setback in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the global cosmetics market has experienced an almost incessant growth since 2004 and was forecast to generate revenues amounting to nearly 129 billion U.S. dollars by the year 2028.”

Skincare is predicted to stay number one. The production of cosmetics and beauty products is controlled by several multi-national corporations – L’Oréal, Unilever, Procter & Gamble Co., The Estee Lauder Companies, Shiseido Company, and Beiersdorf to name a few. As of 2023, the French cosmetics company L’Oréal was the leading beauty manufacturer in the world, generating revenues of over 44 billion U.S. dollars that year. The company owns the leading personal care brand worldwide, L’Oréal Paris, valued at nearly 48 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.

The cosmetics industry has benefited from the increasing popularity of social media channels such as Instagram and YouTube. These platforms are not only highly influential amongst certain demographic groups but also create a demand for beauty products and help fill the gap between cosmetics brands and consumers. In March 2024, Sandra Cires Art was the most subscribed beauty content creator on the video platform YouTube with about 16.5 million subscribers to her channel.

The cosmetics industry is not only heavily influenced or supported by social media and e-commerce, but it can now rely on new technological products, forming part of the beauty tech market, developed to improve the consumer’s journey and experience. (https://www.statista.com/topics/3137/cosmetics-industry).

A few Sundays ago, whilst my family members were busy doing their weekly grocery shopping, I took the trouble of counting the number of different cosmetic and beauty care products on sale in a medium size local supermarket. It had a staggering 1,200 plus products. I examined most products to find whether the product had been approved by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority or by the Commissioner of Ayurveda. There was merely a handful that seemed to have the stamp of approval of the latter.

Both family doctors as well as dermatologists tend to see more patients with skin diseases attributed to the use of cosmetics. In the USA, it is estimated that 85 million visit a dermatologist every year, with a significant increase in skin cancer.

Sri Lanka’s Cosmetics, Devices and Drugs Act was enacted in 1980. It was modeled on the Canadian legislation and provided a sound basis for the regulation on drugs, devices and cosmetics. In the case of cosmetics, besides regulating ingredients and their quality and the final product, there were provisions to deal with counterfeit goods, adulteration and misleading claims that compromised user safety. Several skin whitening creams containing dangerous levels of mercury were banned but without effective enforcement some of these brands are available.

Instead of making amendments to the Cosmetics, Devices and Drugs Act, an attempt was made in 2005 to repeal it and introduce a new National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) Act. It is a badly drafted piece of legislation. Even though it was to cover cosmetics, for a bizarre reason the regulation of cosmetics was left out. The reason given was the World Health Organization does not favour the regulation of cosmetics along with drugs and devices. This is a totally fabricated excuse. It is speculated that an official member of a major firm that was a leading cosmetics importer had influenced the decision to jettison the provisions on cosmetics. Even though nine long years have since lapsed, the country still lacks a comprehensive regulatory framework on cosmetics.

A new regulatory issue has also arisen. Persons alleged to have engaged in money laundering offences, often offer as an excuse that the funds represent the profits of the sale of cosmetics. If large quantities have been purchased by distributors and paid for by them, law enforcement authorities can track the details of the purchases and the transfer of profits, including the payment of VAT and income tax.

The absence of legislation cannot be used as a means to account for funds from unauthorized activities. The problem is compounded by the Ayurvedic Commissioner granting licences for creams and balms claiming to contain herbal products, without an exhaustive check as to whether banned ingredients are contained in the product. Moreover, cosmetics continue to be imported with lax controls.

There is an unfounded assumption that having a ‘white skin’ will enable students planning to go abroad for studies to easily get jobs. They have become an easy target for the illegal sale of whitening products, without realizing the heath hazards.

An urgent priority is to ensure that the country takes a fresh review of the NMRA and include the regulation of cosmetics in it and train sufficient enforcement staff to ensure that only licensed cosmetics are sold to the public.