As it does every year, the French Agency for the safety of sanitary products (Afssaps) has just released its Cosmetovigilance data for 2010. Still high: the number of undesirable effects. New allergens. A change in the "top 3" cosmetic products involved. This report shows that market survey and better safety are still the two mottos of the market.
As a preamble, the Afssaps says that, in the absence of any marketing authorization, the Cosmetovigilance system is the main tool to check and analyses the market, to improve the consumers’ safety. This applies to the French market, where the system is enforced since 2004, as well as to the European market, where it has been adopted, and enforced in the entire European Union through the new Regulation on cosmetics, which will be fully mandatory in 2013.
Dermatologists: still, the main informants
The system is based on the notification to the sanitary authorities of any
undesirable reaction
following the application of a
cosmetic product
.
In 2010, even if the consumers may report themselves (only 1% of the notifications), the health professionals by far the main actors in the system.
Informants of reported
undesirable reactions
:
• dermatologists: 57%
• other specialist M.D.s: 15%
• pharmacists: 10%
• the Regional Centres of PharmacoVigilance: 8%
• manufacturers: 6%
• poison control centres: 2%
• consumers: 1%
• other institutions: 1%
2010 figures
Overall, 219
undesirable effects
have been reported.
Though the trend along the years is up (104
undesirable effects
reported in 2004, 128 in 2006, 193 in 2008 …), there …